A lecture on the origins of culture ended up feeling like an act of resistance. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

For 25 cents, a therapist/philosopher gives me advice on how to be chill in this terrible time. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reality seems weirder and weirder lately, and not in a good way. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

You don’t have to dig deep to find irony in New Jersey. Nuggets of irony lie on the ground, you can scoop them up with a shovel. From my latest column: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

You know how your dog, when you point in the direction of the ball, stares at your finger, confused? That's how some people react to poetry. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reading "Paterson," the book-length William Carlos Williams poem, makes me wonder: What is poetry for? And: Should I write an epic poem about Ho-Ho-Hoboken? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"History will judge TAKs, Trump-ass-kissers, to be far more deranged than Trump-bashers like me (unless historians all become TAKs and we descend into a new dark age)." From johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

How can I bash Trump for bashing science when I bash science too? Doesn't that make me a hypocrite? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Seeing science from an historical perspective makes me, Mr. End of Science, even gloomier about science's prospects. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I was an ironic Broncos fan, but I still felt bad when they lost the 1987 Superbowl. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"Irony" gets a rap rap, but I can't help but see the world ironically: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My thoughts on the 80th anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Thanks Bill.

My pal Alex "Doomsday" Wellerstein, a connoisseur of weirdness, reports on an especially weird thing he did recently. doomsdaymachines.net/p/wasteland-...

I woke up wondering what to do today, and I ended up writing about free will, enlightenment, utopia, tech bros, the purpose of life, yada yada. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A chat between friends about quantum mechanics? I like it.

The time seems right for a look at Solzhenitsyn's Gulag autofiction, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My doctor keeps urging me to get a PSA test, which has been proven to do more harm than good.

Articles in NY Times and New Yorker overstate benefits of colonoscopies and other cancer screens. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Even by the standards of his day, Thomas Jefferson was appallingly hypocritical. Some thoughts for Independence Day. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

On waves, rhythms and endings. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reading "To the Lighthouse" prepared me for "Waves." It's a strange book about the strangeness of existence.

Years ago, during an acid trip, I stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and its surface was covered with runes that shape-shifted too fast for me to decipher. That's how Virginia Woolf's "The Waves" makes me feel. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Virginia Woolf's strange, beautiful book "The Waves" rocked me. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Can't disagree.

I just asked Douglas Hofstadter, author of Godel, Escher, Bach and one of the most original thinkers I've met, a few questions: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My strange encounter with Amanda Feilding (RIP), a British aristocrat who was into LSD and trepanation (drilling a hole in your head). johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"WHEN CRUELTY BECOMES NORMAL, COMPASSION LOOKS RADICAL." Sign I saw at a No Kings protest Saturday in Jersey City. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I went to a No Kings protest yesterday. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Legendary Apple coder Bill Atkinson just died. I contributed, in spite of his misgivings, to a book of his photos of rocks' otherworldly innards. Here's the story: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My take on "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf, who is as much a mystic as Buddha. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I just found out that my name pops up in a multiple-choice exercise in an SAT study guide. Should I: 1, be flattered; 2, be offended; 3, write a column about it; 4, demand royalties? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Thanks for the plug.

I was sitting in a park in Jersey City with a friend when she asked me why people say quantum mechanics is "weird." And I, like a fool, tried to tell her. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Gravity's Rainbow seemed dated a decade ago, when Obama was President. Now it strikes me as a dead-on depiction of our crazy self-destructive species. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Neuroscientist Christof Koch talks to me about a mind-blowing psychedelic trip and its implications. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

On the last day of the semester, I asked my students what they're worried about. Their answers, unsurprisingly, surprised me. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

In 2008, I met a 17-year-old mystic in an unlikely setting: a weekend Airsoft wargame. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Nazis liked the melancholy mysticism of 19th-century German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. I prefer the comix of R. Crumb. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Does knowledge-seeking make you a better person, as Socrates, Buddha and other wise guys have claimed? I have my doubts. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

In my latest column, I explain why I like The Ambassadors, a dense, difficult book by Henry James, whose characters, all upper-class twits, seem devoid of genitals: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Right on, Seth Rogen! While giving out a science award sponsored by tech overlords, some of whom were in the audience, Rogen dissed tech overlords for supporting our anti-science President. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ap...

What should a science critic do when science is under assault from the US government? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

How should a mystic react to you know what? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Here is how I came across the interview described in previous skeet.

. @mcuban.bsky.social When I heard @laurahelmuth.bsky.social answer this question from @jhorganism.bsky.social, I immediately thought of you. Jump to 51:55 if you're pressed for time: stevens.zoom.us/rec/play/4wf...

Michael Shermer, Jerry Coyne and Jesse Singal faulted former Scientific American editor Laura Helmuth for pursuing social justice too zealously. Here is my calm, objective take on this controversy. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My post-election column on resignation of Scientific American editor Laura Helmuth, who's talking to my school Wednesday: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I'm hosting a zoom talk Wednesday 3-4 EST by former Scientific American editor Laura Helmuth. For details and zoom link see www.stevens.edu/events/when-...

Even when we don't talk about the shitshow, we talk about it. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...