Q. What is in Jamaican Jerk Spice? . A. When people learn that I’m half Jamaican, conversations quickly turn to the beautiful Blue Mountains, the turquoise sea, reggae, fresh mangoes, hard dough bread, and jerk spice. Jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk breadfruit. The origins of jerk spice are up for

Q. Yet another strange slice of pandemic life: watching late night comedy and Zoom sets without any audience laughter. It makes one think of laugh tracks – how did they come to be and what’s their future in a socially distanced world? . A. It’s been jarring watching late night

You were passed over yet again for that promotion. You weren’t even granted an interview, despite being an objectively strong fit. And now, much to the surprise of your co-workers, you were amongst the first pandemic layoffs. Not all career slights are due to bias. Applicants might be misinformed, deluded,

Q. As beleaguered teachers work to enliven their lessons and fill online learning hours, it begs the question: which school time learning songs best caught your attention, helped you learn concepts, then actually stayed in your head? . A. When edutainment songs don’t work, they really don’t work. RIP awkward

Q. This has been a month of extraordinary emotion – in the news, at home, on the streets. What are some lesser used English words that could describe how people are feeling? . A. Ache A deep and chronic pain. Adread Frightened. Terrified. Aprosexia Mind jumping hummingbird-like, from one thought

Q. Who – we ask in the face of wicked counterexamples – are some of the greatest leaders in history? A. BBC World Histories Magazine asked a panel of historians to nominate particularly great leaders from the past, leaders who had real power and/yet had a positive impact on humanity.

Q. Wanted: a moment of peace away from the madness. A sensory distraction. What types of food are particularly comforting? A. I scream. You scream. We all scream. For friends, jobs, and freedoms lost to a vicious virus. For George Floyd and a long list of Americans hunted down for

Q. Why, for centuries, have people worked so hard to find truffles? . A. There is no easy peasy picking for this fungus. Citizens across France, Italy, Spain have sent pigs, dogs, foxes, even badgers to sniff  these ‘black diamonds’ out of hiding. Why? Plutarch thought truffles were baked by

Q. What are some historically famous dreams? And what does it all mean anyway? A. Frankenstein first came to Mary Shelley in a dream, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to Robert Louis Stevenson. Prior to his assassination, President Abraham Lincoln dreamt of a corpse and the ‘subdued sobs of mourners.’

Q. Why can’t I get that song out of my head?! . A. What do Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and 300 audio-animatronic dolls have in common? They all take starring roles in songs which, once they get in your head, are not so willing to get out. Say So exerts