Putting Self-Reflection on Paws

In Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, 14-year-old Sophie Amundsen begins receiving mysterious letters from a philosopher, encouraging her to consider deep questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human. One day, she is tasked with considering the differences between humans and animals, and reflects on the differences between her cat and herself.

The Pessimist’s Guide to Global Affairs

There was once a time in the 1990s when Robert Kaplan was rightly regarded as a prophet. “Disease, overpopulation, unprovoked crime, scarcity of resources, refugee migrations, the increasing erosion of nation-states and international borders, and the empowerment of private armies, security firms, and international drug cartels”—this was the parade of horribles Kaplan bracingly foretold in