My partner loves a large outfitting company that has a very generous return policy. The store will accept nearly any return within a year of purchase. My partner has been buying fairly expensive items from the store, using them while we travel and then returning them, even though they have …
Read More »Philip Zimbardo, 91, Whose Stanford Prison Experiment Studied Evil, Dies
Philip G. Zimbardo, a towering figure in social psychology who explored how good people turn evil in the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, which devolved into chaos after college students acting as guards started abusing other students acting as prisoners, died on Oct. 14 at his home in San Francisco. He …
Read More »I’m Out of Work. Can I Take a Job in a Predatory Industry?
I have been unemployed for six months, during which time I’ve faced a tough job market with few interviews and no offers. Now I’ve been offered a senior executive role in an industry that is, while legal, known for exploiting financially vulnerable people through predatory practices. The role comes with …
Read More »Is It OK to Name Our Dog for a God?
My family recently adopted a rescue dog. As we were going through a long list of possible names for our pup, two of the more charming possibilities were Odin (the king of the gods in ancient Norse mythology) and Zeus (the leader of the gods in ancient Greek mythology). I …
Read More »Can I Patronize a Place Run by a Trump Supporter?
For 18 months, I’ve taken a weekly lesson at a stable that specializes in therapeutic work. The team here helps disabled people experience horseback riding and nonmounted equine exercises; they also have a kids’ program. The barn is truly my happy place, so much so that I have volunteered at …
Read More »My Son Has a Gambling Problem. Do I Tell His Partner?
Our 30-something son has been seriously dating a smart, capable woman for more than a year. They seem very happy; they recently moved in together and are talking about their long-term future, including the possibility of having children. She fits in well with our family and is a good influence …
Read More »Covering All the Corners of a Warming World
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. There’s a romanticized idea in movies that travel editors only luxuriate in fancy resorts in faraway archipelagos. But I prefer exploring salt marshes. Since I was a child, my favorite …
Read More »Aren’t I Entitled to Know Why My Husband Is on a Drug for H.I.V. Risk?
My husband and I have been together since 1976. We have not always lived together, and we haven’t pledged to be monogamous. But neither have we had an ‘‘open marriage’’ or been promiscuous. An occasional fling when we have been traveling separately has been pretty satisfying. Recently I discovered emtricitabine …
Read More »I’m a Queer Man Who Had a Fling With Another Guy. Should His Girlfriend Be Told?
I’m a man who recently had a fling with a man who is in a monogamous heterosexual relationship. We had sex twice. While I am in a nonmonogamous relationship myself, I respect the practice of monogamy. Normally I wouldn’t get involved with someone who is unfaithful. But here I felt …
Read More »Is It OK to Leave the U.S. if the Wrong Candidate Becomes President?
A few years ago, American friends of mine bought a home in a European country in order to obtain an E.U. passport. (The country has an immigration program supporting this.) They state that they are doing so in case the United States presidential election goes as they fear. They, and …
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