When companies face financial hardship, they are often tempted to merge, splitting their costs and combining their customers. Couples do the opposite. The weight of unpaid bills and overdue loans can break a relationship: the unspoken vow that haunts...

The study of laughter has entered mainstream psychology. Anthony Gottlieb reads the reports--and a new book on the history of jokes--and finds much to chuckle over ...

There is such ease in the language of "Not That Kind of Girl", Carlene Bauer's memoir, that readers may be lulled into underestimating the alchemy that is taking place. Bauer has managed to transform the raw, melancholic, alienating challenges of...

Not all great art is born of rebellion, but a little angst certainly never hurt. When art evolves to speak to for the disenfranchised, as did rap and hip hop, rebellion is a necessary condition. Yet the core message of mainstream American hip hop has...

The stuff of school trips is not often the stuff of romantic weekends too. As part of our Authors on Museums series, Allison Pearson rediscovers the magic of the Musée Rodin ... From INTELLIGENT LIFE Magazine, Autumn 2009 You never forget your...

The more than 300 pieces honouring Louis XIV that now hang in the gilded halls of Versailles attest to a life of opulence that now seems not only extraordinary but almost extra-terrestrial. “Louis  XIV was a world unto himself,” Nicolas Milovanovic,...

What is xanthan gum and what is it good for? After consulting with some chefs, Molly Young buys a bag to experiment with in her own laboratory kitchen ... Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE Xanthan gum is that strange species of food additive, the...