By J. A. Mills This post originally appeared on Mills' blog. Surely China’s President Xi Jinping would not support the commodification of tigers and rhinos if he knew all the facts. What stands in the way of his enlightenment is... Read more →

“Could anything actually exist in the scientific universe that is worthy of being called God?” Nancy Ellen Abram's answer is yes: there’s a way to think about God that takes away none of its power but all of its impossibilities, based on the new science of “emergence.” Read more →

Dr. H. Gilbert Welch is an academic physician, a professor at Dartmouth Medical School, and a nationally recognized expert on the effects of medical testing. He sees the value of medical care, particularly in those who are acutely ill or injured. But in many other settings, we have exaggerated the benefits of medical care and understated its harms. In this video, Dr. Welch examines some widely held assumptions about the value of medical care. Read more →

In his review of Denis and Gil Boyer Hayes' COWED, Philip Warburg says it offers a "compelling compromise between swearing off beef and continuing an unhealthy, polluting status quo." Read more →

How do you bring "sensual religion" to an online course? S. Brent Plate shares his experience of creating his first MOOC--Massive Open Online Course--based on his book A History of Religion in 5-1/2 Objects. Read more →

China is opening an office dedicated to protecting wild tigers. But, as long as China allows some 6,000 tigers on farms with tiger-bone wine brewing in their wineries, it will continue to stimulate demand for and poaching of wild tigers. Read more →

With the excitement following the announcement of the forthcoming publication of Harper Lee's second book, Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski take a fresh, critical look at the way in which To Kill a Mockingbird frames its discussion of racial violence and responsibility for both perpetrating and dismantling it. Read more →

This eulogy for the Reverend James Reeb (January 1, 1927—March 11, 1965), who was killed 50 years ago, was delivered by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Brown Chapel, Selma, Alabama, March 15, 1965. Read more →

It’s a terrible shame when you see how easy it can be to feed children good, healthy food that not only nourishes their bodies, but gives them a sense of place and a sense of community. Sharing good, local food can do that—it’s not an unrealistic romantic dream. Read more →

With the season’s snowfall now well past the 100-inch mark, no one needs to be reminded of how rough a winter it’s been for Bostonians. Ice dams are everywhere, gutters are straining to the breaking point, and leaks have become the prime topic of water cooler conversation. Yet amidst it all, residential solar power systems have soldiered on. Read more →

So far in 2015, the world has seen two rounds of effusive headlines about tigers “roaring back” in the wild—first from India, then from China. Unfortunately, wild tigers are nowhere near “roaring back” anywhere. In fact, their numbers are down by half what they were 20 years ago, while threats to their survival continue to escalate. Read more →

We at Beacon would like to honor World Wildlife Day, marked every year on March 3, by highlighting some of the books dedicated to various kinds of wildlife conservation. Read more →