Footnotes: Why Logic Wrote a Novel

Bobby Hall, better known as the Grammy-nominated rapper Logic, started writing his debut novel, “Supermarket,” four years ago. He had released “The Incredible True Story,” a dystopian concept album in which two men search for a planet named Paradise in the wake of Earth’s destruction, and finished the script for a film, “Everything Must Go,”…

At War: ‘Swat the Kaiser’, Stork Stands and Grenade Throws: The History of Army Physical Fitness

Few tasks in American soldiers’ lives are judged as deeply as their performance on the Army’s required semiannual physical-fitness test: Push-ups, situps and a timed two-mile run are used to gauge physical readiness and also, supposedly, readiness for combat. But that long-predictable standard will soon change — radically. By October 2020, all soldiers will instead…

Can What We Eat Affect How We Feel?

The patient, a 48-year-old real estate professional in treatment for anxiety and mild depression, revealed that he had eaten three dozen oysters over the weekend. His psychiatrist, Dr. Drew Ramsey, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, was impressed: “You’re the only person I’ve prescribed them to who came back and said he…

‘Avocado Toast’ Is Now a Paint Color

Image Natalie and Caleb Ebel, the founders of Backdrop Paint.CreditVincent Tullo for The New York Times Benjamin Moore offers consumers a choice of more than 3,500 paint colors. Sherwin-Williams, a competitor, sells a more limited but still substantial palette of 1,500 hues. To buy either brand, you generally have to visit a hardware store or…