Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

Rick Shenkman is the author of "Political Animals:  How Our Stone Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics" (Basic Books, 2016). You can sign up for Rick's blog! Just click here:

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  Sep 17, 2022
  

  Hey Kids! It's Constitution Day. Yay!

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  What were the founding fathers really like, you may be wondering. Here's an unconventional take on the men who wrote the Constitution.

  

• 
  Aug 30, 2022
  

  Sex Phobia? Don't Blame the Puritans

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Another installment of Myth America, the TLC TV series that tells it like it is.

  

• 
  Jun 28, 2022
  

  This Year Don't Fall for the 4th of July Myths (Video)

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Or the myths about our other big American holidays.

  

• 
  Jun 3, 2022
  

  How Should We Rate Presidents?

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  New polls indicate Trump is more popular than Biden.  What this suggests is that people have no idea how to rate presidents.

  

• 
  May 16, 2022
  

  Is the Wild West Responsible for Violence in America? (Video)

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Why the simple answer -- our history as a Wild West culture -- is too simple.

  

• 
  May 16, 2022
  

  The best books to understand why voters often behave irrationally

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Five books for your summer reading list.

  

• 
  Apr 19, 2022
  

  Any Boy Can Be President (Video)

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Ah, yes, the old rags to riches myth flies again.

  

• 
  Feb 26, 2022
  

  War Propaganda: It's an Old Story (Video)

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  How war incubates propaganda.

  

• 
  Feb 4, 2022
  

  Presidents Day – Myths About Those Two Guys, Abe and George

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  What we get wrong about Lincoln and Washington.  (Video)

  

• 
  Jan 19, 2022
  

  Biden's First Anniversary: His Crime? He's Human

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Putting his presidency in perspective by seeing how other presidents have fared.

  

• 
  Aug 9, 2021
  

  Nothing I Learned as a Historian Over 45 Years Prepared Me for This Moment

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  It's disorienting to wake up and discover you don't live in the country you think you did.

  

• 
  Feb 5, 2021
  

  Why Voters Shouldn't Be Given the Chance to Re-Elect Donald Trump

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  We can't let a president get away with crimes against our democracy just because he commits them in the final months of his term.

  

• 
  Oct 31, 2020
  

  What Can Evolutionary Psychology Tell Us About Our Reaction to Covid?

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  One finding is that socieities which take a loose approach to norms and tolerate deviance from those norms are faring worst.

  

• 
  Oct 15, 2020
  

  Vaughn Davis Bornet, RIP at 102

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  He wrote for HNN for years.  He continued writing after he turned 100.

  

• 
  Oct 4, 2020
  

  Presidents Lie About Their Health More Than Any Other Subject

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Even honest presidents have lied about their health.  So we shouldn't expect Donald Trump to tell the truth.

  

• 
  Jul 4, 2020
  

  We’re All Historians Now

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Donald Trump may not like the debate we are having about history.  I welcome it. 

  

• 
  Jan 7, 2020
  

  Our GOP Problem

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  America needs a responsible conservative party.  The GOP isn't.

  

• 
  Jan 7, 2020
  

  Should We Be Scared of Rightwing Populism?

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  The answer depends on whether you think we can predict the future.  

  

• 
  Oct 9, 2019
  

  Saudi Arabia's Pearl Harbor

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  What a visit to a right-wing Japanese museum taught me.

  

• 
  Sep 8, 2019
  

  Should We Give Up on Democracy?

  by Stone Age Brain | Rick Shenkman

  Some social scientists say we might not have a choice.