Author: David Wagner

Today in Research

Video Games Can Help Dyslexic Kids Read Better

NotoriousJEN via Flickr

Discovered: Video games can help dyslexic kids read; pregnancy increases foot size; around 100 million sharks are killed annually; mammalian sperm swims upstream. 

By David Wagner

Feb 13, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

David Ignatius on Obama's optimistic State of the Union, Maureen Dowd on Rubio's response, James Hohmann on issues that should concern Democrats, Fred Kaplan on the President's vague foreign policy, and Simon Jenkins on the senselessness of sanctions.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 12, 2013

Today in Research

Conservatives More Likely to Buy Name-Brand Products

Discovered: Conservatives prefer Kleenex® to tissues; relationship stress makes you susceptible to illness; gene therapy cures diabetes in dogs; warm weather can cloud the mind. 

Comments | 1,897 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 12, 2013

Four Loko's Days of Deception Are Over

According to the terms of their settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the makers of Four Loko will have to label cans of their potent product with more alcohol information and make the lids resealable.

Comments | 3,276 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 12, 2013

Conservatives Blame Weak Obama for North Korea Test with Indefensible Meme

North Korea's latest show of nuclear might has many conservatives fuming over the Obama administration's supposed weakness on nuclear proliferation. But what exactly do they expect the President to do?

Comments | 3,104 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 12, 2013

A Coca-Cola Addict's Death Isn't Helping Coke's Health Campaign

The last thing Coca-Cola needs right now, in the middle of their push to brand themselves as a health-conscious company, is someone dying from drinking too much Coke.   

Comments | 4,828 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 12, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Peter Wensierski on the polarizing pope, Greg Sargent on Ted Nugent's friends in D.C., Sam Lagrone on looming Navy cuts, Jeffrey Toobin on vanishing Republicans, and Andrew Ross Sorkin on an elite LinkedIn. 

Comments | 1,724 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 11, 2013

Today in Research

Shark Attacks Are at a 12-Year High

Discovered: Last year was the worst shark attack year since 2000; underage drinkers are partial to Bud Light and Smirnoff; dogs understand us more than we thought; help name Pluto's new moons.

Comments | 2,480 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 11, 2013

Ted Nugent and His Trail of Obama Hate Are Coming to State of the Union

Should we be concerned that Ted Nugent — the paleo-rocker who said he'd be "dead or in jail" by this time if President Obama were reelected — is attending tomorrow's State of the Union address?

Comments | 5,807 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 11, 2013

Why This Emotional Newtown Guest Turned Down the State of the Union

When President Obama delivers his address, he'll speak to a chamber attended by more than 20 Americans affected by gun violence. But one Sandy Hook widower won't be there. 

Comments | 2,759 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 11, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Eleanor Clift on State of the Union stakes, Andrew Brown on the pope's resignation, Marc Thiessen on Jack Lew's offshore investments, Connie Rice on the LAPD's culture, and Fouad Ajami on drones.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 8, 2013

Today in Research

Factory Farms Use 80% of the United States' Antibiotic Supply

Discovered: Animals on factory farms need a lot of antibiotics; endangered tortoises aren't turned on by piano music; comfort food raises risk of stroke; teddy bears aren't a sign of immaturity.

Comments | 3,522 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 8, 2013

How to Be an Online Blizzard Scientist

Calling all lazy nerds getting snowed in by "Nemo." Helping researchers collect snowstorm data has become so insanely easy, anyone with a smartphone and 30 seconds can be a citizen scientist during the blizzard.

Comments | 517 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 8, 2013

This Priceless Louvre Painting Got Defaced by 9/11 Truther Graffiti

Like some kind of paranoid Banksy, a woman entered a Louvre gallery today and scrawled 9/11 conspiracy graffiti on Eugene Delacroix's canvas Liberty Leading the People.

Comments | 13,114 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 8, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Michael Crowley on Congress' drone anxieties, Michael Hastings on waking up to drone realities, Jonathan Last on immigration filling the population gap, Ruy Teixeira on the population non-problem, and Jason Dorrier on job-stealing robots.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 7, 2013

Today in Research

Evolutionary Evidence Suggests We Descended From Rats

Discovered: What we were before we were monkeys; lower legal drinking ages encourage more binge drinking; forensics on King Richard III's remains prove Shakespeare right; diet sodas raise diabetes risk more than sugary drinks.  

Comments | 3,645 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 7, 2013

This 'Harlem Shake' Meme Is About to Make a Cult Music Genre a Very Big Deal

A new kind of populist electronic music called "trap" has been skirting the mainstream for a few months now, but hasn't yet broken through. Could a bunch of silly viral videos make the genre a household name?

Comments | 16,553 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 7, 2013

Justin Timberlake Will Now Sell You Classy Beer

With a new album out soon, a Grammy performance on deck, and a lot more work needed to resuscitate Myspace, how does Justin Timberlake have time to be the "creative director" of Bud Light Platinum? 

Comments | 345 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 7, 2013

The Menendez Scandal Is About Medicare but We're Still Talking About Prostitutes

Even with a juicy new story line developing over health-care fraud, conservative media outlets remain fixated on Menendez's alleged cavorting with Dominican prostitutes on a Florida optometrist's dime.

Comments | 1,250 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 7, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Al Cardenas on creating an immigrant-friendly GOP, Ezra Klein on disingenuous GOP rebranding, Daniel Gross on the new Interior Secretary, Adam Davidson on money buying happiness, and Bryan Appleyard on the world's entitled elites.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 6, 2013

Today in Research

Couples Who Drink Together Stay Together

Discovered: Couples that match each other's drinking get divorced less; why diet soda is a better mixer; first human stem cells made with 3D printer; and a 62-year-old Albatross has a baby.

Comments | 5,462 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 6, 2013

Which Schools Aren't Lying Their Way to a Higher U.S. News Ranking?

Five colleges have recently been caught cooking admissions statistics in order to secure higher spots in the U.S. News college rankings. As admissions officers come clean about the rankings racket, suspicions about U.S. News' credibility have been raised. 

Comments | 5,465 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 6, 2013

The End of the Mail Starts Here

Emotional observers are split on whether or not the Saturday delivery stoppage will be enough to save the beloved institution: Either the American institution remains as crucial as ever, or it's about to go the way of the fax machine. Here's a look at what's next.

Comments | 3,035 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 6, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

David Kravets on Obama's drone problem, Michael Kugelman on global agribusiness, Doyle McManus on the mortgage interest taxes, Duncan Black on the failure of 401Ks, and Alec MacGillis on Eric Cantor's call to cut the medical device tax. 

Comments | 862 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

My Bloody Valentine: A Timeline of Broken Promises

The legendary shoegaze band's frontman reassured diehard fans that the follow-up to their mythical 1991 record would be out soon. Except it's not, and this isn't the first time Kevin Shields has failed to make rumors real.

Comments | 11,380 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

Today in Research

Life Found Under Ice in Antarctica

Discovered: Oxygen-dependent lifeforms in the harshest of conditions; how owls twist their necks like that; the flu came early this year because of a warm winter; cats and humans are very alike (when it comes to a form of epilepsy). 

Comments | 3,928 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

The Religious Right Is Still Mad About Getting What It Wanted on Birth Control

If you think everyone's happy with Friday's contraception compromise — which allows religious organizations to opt out of the birth-control mandate while still ensuring women get access to contraception — you underestimate the fury of faithful conservatives.

Comments | 2,936 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

Look How Fake Iran's Space Monkey Was

Iran made a pretty big deal about their supposedly successful attempt at launching a monkey into orbit and returning him safely to Earth. But looking closely at evidence from the mission, experts have easily called Iran's bluff.

Comments | 8,954 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

Morrissey Wants You to Start Mourning His Death Early

The incurably morose former Smiths frontman is still ill after being hospitalized over the weekend. But don't take Morrissey's melodramatic (and very public) update on touring plans too literally, because the soil isn't falling over his head just yet.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 1, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Jonathan Tobin on how Hagel blew it, Chris Cillizza on why Hagel will still get confirmed, Flynt and Hillary Leverett on the need to accept Iranian power, Paul Krugman on the search for austerity successes, and Ron Fournier on covering Hillary. 

Comments | 2,804 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

Today in Research

Our Soldiers Are Not Sleeping Enough

Discovered: Sleep deprivation runs high in the military; a look inside the brain of the zebrafish; how pigeons get lost in the "Bermuda Triangle"; cancer death rates are down.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

Caleb Moore Is the First Athlete to Die in X-Games Competition

Concerns over the dangerous feats demanded from X-Games athletes appear justified now that 25-year-old professional snowmobiler Caleb Moore has died following his accident at this year's competition in Aspen, Colorado.

Comments | 2,838 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

The World's Biggest Beer Monopoly Got Sued by the U.S. Government

Mixing Budweiser and Coors would be too much for the beer market to swallow, according to a lawsuit just filed by the Justice Department seeking to block Anheuser-Busch InBev's merger with Mexican brewing giant Grupo Modelo.

Comments | 3,230 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

The Mars Curiosity Rover Is a She, Just So You Know

A note to @MarsCuriosity's 1,270,220 followers on Twitter: NASA's intrepid rover is a she. The women behind her massively popular social media presence confirmed today that "she" is the proper pronoun for referring to the Mars explorer.

Comments | 510 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Matthew Yglesias on the stupidity of sequestration, Caroline Baum on Paul Ryan's deficit elimination plan, Daniel Gross on the GDP report, Erick Erickson on Rubio's immigration play, and Rory Carroll on Venezuela's post-Chavez void. 

Comments | 2,414 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

Today in Research

Should We Believe Research That Says Men Who Do More Chores Have Less Sex?

Discovered: Does sex really vanish when men do more chores?; weighing black holes; why you should get most of your eating in before 3:00 p.m.; a quarter-billion year old tapeworm. 

Comments | 2,022 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

A Guide to the 'Evidence' That Menendez Actually Solicited Dominican Prostitutes

But does a muckraking conservative journalist get it right? So far, all the evidence that's emerged on this supposed scandal is inconclusive, misdirecting, or simply unrelated to the allegations at hand. Let's take a look at what Robert Menendez has to answer for, and whether he should be worried.

Comments | 6,309 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

Jerry Sandusky Is Running Out of Excuses

Now that a Pennsylvania judge has rejected Jerry Sandusky's request for a new trial, the convicted child sex abuser and former Penn State football coach is running out of ways to avoid spending the rest of his life behind bars. 

Comments | 3,067 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

How the GDP's Big Shrink Might Impact a Budget Deal

U.S. gross domestic product fell by 0.1 percent in 2012's fourth quarter, and analysts are chalking up the losses to reduced government spending — especially on defense. Will evidence about downsized federal budgets shrinking GDP change how lawmakers approach the budget fight?

Comments | 345 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Doyle McManus on immigration reform's moment, Ezra Klein on how immigration policy affects the economy, Matt K. Lewis on Twitter's overcrowding, Chris Murphy on the new NRA, and Sanjay Kumar on India's cultural emergency.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 29, 2013

Today in Research

Doctors Are Being Worked Too Hard, and That's Hurting Hospital Safety

Discovered: Physicians who see too many patients are more prone to slip up; gay men are gayer than straight guys; taking trays out of cafeterias reduces waste; new criteria for 'habitable' planets.

Comments | 1,129 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 29, 2013

These Are the J.D. Salinger Secrets We've Been Waiting For

With a new documentary and biography about the creator of The Catcher in the Rye on the way, we could be learning a lot more about the intensely private author. Here's what we still don't know, and what we might discover next.

Comments | 25,460 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 29, 2013

Joe Scarborough's Gut Has a New Enemy: Paul Krugman

After (semi) apologizing to Nate Silver for doubting his spot-on statistical insights into the 2012 presidential election, Joe Scarborough's gut instinct is now telling him to go after another guy who knows his data: Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

Comments | 2,003 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 29, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Bill Richardson on immigration reform, Michael Tomasky on Republican efforts to attract minority voters, Andrew Ross Sorkin on the next head of the SEC, Jeffrey Toobin on activist judges, and Tim Padgett on Brazil's nightclub fire.

Comments | 2,414 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Today in Research

Green Tea and Viagra: A Recipe for Fighting Cancer?

Discovered: Erectile dysfunction meds and green tea team up to fight cancer; cell phone towers are responsible for many bird deaths; look at this tractor beam in action; shooting your belly full of botox won't make you skinny.

Comments | 3,367 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Obama's Failed Promise to Close Gitmo: A Timeline

On the same day that the September 11th high-jackers returned to court, word came that the office responsible for closing the prison has itself been closed, adding another entry to the long list of scuttled attempts to shut down the detention facility.

Comments | 3,698 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Indie Labels Are Really Mad at Myspace Right Now

The sleek new revamped Myspace has no problem paying major labels for the right to stream their music. But indie labels aren't seeing any of that kickback, and they're furious about it.

Comments | 1,923 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Welcome to the End of Barnes & Noble as You Knew It

Readers who loyally buy print books from hundreds of Barnes & Noble stores may soon have to settle for the Nook. According to a top executive, as much as a third of their stores will be closed over the next 10 years.

Comments | 21,075 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Bob Woodward on why Obama chose Hagel, Paul Krugman on so-called takers, William Lloyd George on Eritrea's teetering dictatorship, Gordon Chang on Chinese air, and Albert Hunt on Republicans' electoral vote shuffle.

Comments | 4,478 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 25, 2013

Today in Research

Cows Who Eat Flaxseeds Make More Nutritious Milk

Discovered: Omega-3s make cow dairy more nutritious; protons are just a tiny bit smaller than we thought, and that has huge implications; HIV's ancient origins; ADHD medicine is putting more people in the emergency room.

Comments | 1,518 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 25, 2013

Why Was Flame Retardant in Gatorade, and Why Is It Still in Mountain Dew?

Electrolytes aren't the only thing quenching your thirst when you drink Gatorade. An ingredient patented for use as a flame retardant has been in the formula until now, as PepsiCo Inc. plans to phase out the substance from Gatorade... while keeping it in other products.

Comments | 7,533 Views

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App