"They say miracles are past; and we have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless. Hence is it that we make trifles of terrors, ensconcing ourselves ...

Amid this season of gift-giving, I’ve had occasion to think about the kind of gifts nobody sells at the mall or online or with late-night TV commercials that shout excitedly, “But wait, there’s more.” ...

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FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — One of the misimpressions people have about the world is that it’s going to hell. Perhaps that’s because humanity’s great triumph over the past half-century — huge reductions ...