Mike Pence’s nature is cool, calm, and collected, which is why he made such a good foil to Donald Trump as vice president. His even-keeled nature came to the fore on January 6, 2021, when Trump pressured him to help overturn the election results. Pence says his unshakeable faith in God and the Constitution gave […]
The Ultimate Insider’s View
Jared Kushner served for a whirlwind four years in the White House. He had never intended to become involved in politics. But as the son-in-law of Donald Trump, Kushner found himself pulled into the vortex. In his role as senior advisor to the president, Kushner had front row seats to the presidency. He drafted speeches […]
The Two Faces of Genghis Khan
Violence. Rape. Pillaging. The Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan is often thought of as one of history’s worst villains. But Genghis Khan also had an outsized influence on polite society, building a great empire that thrived on culture, trade, technology, and tolerance. In fact, many of our modern traditions and laws were influenced by his rule. Genghis […]
How to Handle Intense Pressure
Pressure is everywhere, and we often have little control over the circumstances that cause it. What we can control is how we react. Have you ever shut down, panicked, or started behaving aggressively under pressure? That’s textbook behavior, but there is a better way. When we’re under stress, it’s easy for our minds to switch from a state […]
Why You Can’t Just Coast on Talent
Education, skills, and talent often aren’t enough to make you successful. Above all, you need to commit. Your interests should border on obsessions, where you apply hard work and discipline to achieve your dreams. Cameron Hanes, an accomplished bowhunter and ultramarathoner, had never truly had a goal until he found bowhunting. But once he found […]
Would You Live Out of a Van?
Have you ever considered giving everything up and leaving your normal life behind? That’s what Brianna Madia did after she decided to roam the American desert in an old orange van. She and her husband Neil got rid of almost all their belongings and began to live out of the vehicle and travel around the […]
The Robber Baron Who Changed the World
In the 19th century, railroads were everything. And by extension, the businessmen who owned the railroads held a huge amount of power in the United States economy and its political landscape. Jay Gould, a savvy capitalist, was among the most colorful of these characters. Though he was born poor and haunted by illness throughout adulthood, […]
How to Know What You Stand For
Omar Little, the character from “The Wire,” had a famous expression: “A man’s got to have a code.” From the ancient Stoic philosophers to the Internal Revenue Service, codes of conduct have been important to individuals and organizations who want strong values to guide their choices. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a code, too. Former […]
The Brainy Women Who Helped Win WW2
In the depths of World War II, when so many young men were fighting abroad, women across the United States began receiving clandestine letters from the Navy. The military was recruiting smart women who were good at math and languages. As long as they could protect classified information—and didn’t have family members in enemy territory—they […]
Escaping the Parent Trap
The title of Jeanette McCurdy’s autobiography, I’m Glad My Mom Died, has raised some eyebrows since it was released in August. Partly a dark joke, and partly the truth, it was meant to be provocative. McCurdy knows firsthand how hard it is for children who were abused to express complicated and conflicting feelings about the parents […]
