Book Claims Monogamy Goes Against Our Nature

Today on the list: The Supreme Court-bound argument for gay marriage aims to win over every justice, why one author says monogamy is unnatural (just in case), the sound of sadness as identified by scientists, and more.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

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Lasers uncover first icons of Sts. Peter and Paul Twenty-first century laser technology has opened a window into the early days of the Catholic Church, guiding researchers through the dank, musty catacombs beneath Rome to a startling find: the first known icons of the apostles Peter and Paul.

When anyone can be a published author How do you find something good to read in a brave new self-published world?

Music and speech share a code for communicating sadness in the minor third Here’s a little experiment. You know “Greensleeves”—the famous English folk song? Go ahead and hum it to yourself. Now choose the emotion you think the song best conveys: (a) happiness, (b) sadness, (c) anger or (d) fear.

Where are today’s Leonardos? Toy Story You only have to watch the ‘making of’ features on your Pixar DVD to see a modern Renaissance in progress.

Scientists on soapboxes: Taking it to the people Fifteen scientists and science popularisers turned up on Monday to help invent a new form of science communication.

David Boies on the fight for gay marriage The case seems destined for the Supreme Court. “We’re not giving up on any justice,” he vows.

Glenn Greenwald: The Jeffrey Goldberg Media In a stunning display of self-unawareness, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg pointed to last week’s forced “resignation” by Dave Weigel from The Washington Post as evidence that the Post, “in its general desperation for page views, now hires people who came up in journalism without much adult supervision, and without the proper amount of toilet-training.” Goldberg then solemnly expressed hope that “this episode will lead to the reimposition of some level of standards.” Numerous commentators immediately noted the supreme and obvious irony that Goldberg, of all people, would anoint himself condescending arbiter of journalistic standards, given that, as one of the leading media cheerleaders for the attack on Iraq, he compiled a record of humiliating falsehood-dissemination in the run-up to the war that rivaled Judy Miller’s both in terms of recklessness and destructive impact.

Why monogamy goes against our nature From testicle size to our slutty ancestors, a new book explains what human history teaches us about sex and couples.

Police say 2-year-old killed for crying during World Cup Police in McAllen, Texas, have arrested a man for allegedly killing his 2-year-old stepdaughter because she kept crying during the U.S.-Ghana World Cup game on Saturday. The details that police allege are horrific.

Israel’s Lieberman Wants to Strip Palestinians of Citizenship Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s far-right foreign minister, set out last week what he called a “blueprint for a resolution to the conflict” with the Palestinians that demands most of the country’s large Palestinian minority be stripped of citizenship and relocated outside Israel’s future borders.