If you’ve been on the Internet, you’ve undoubtedly heard of “No Nut November”—an annual challenge that dares young men to abstain from ejaculating for a full thirty days. The challenge has become a viral meme, but its origins can be traced to the online NoFap community, whose male adherents tout its pseudoscientific benefits, as a Read more

This essay explores shifts in modern conspiracy theories that reflect growing mistrust of science—mistrust that has recently manifested in anti-vax sentiments and protests against coronavirus lockdowns. I analyze as my case-studies fringe theories about the shape of the Earth, particularly the shift from Hollow Earth in the last century to Flat Earth. The change in Read more

From the essay: “History does not offer us much optimism because things can just as easily get worse as they can get better. But it can offer us a sense of much-needed surprise. Although we are meant to consider ourselves today as living at the pinnacle of modern progress and human civilisation, the past is Read more

From the review: ”The humor the meme conveys is near universal in its pluralistic possibilities, while providing a local idiom for that universality to anchor itself: through the creative process of comedy (not so different from fiction-writing), Drake’s face, Sisi’s face, and stifled giggling over underwear humor alter the comedy canon, paving the way for Hussein Read more