Melissa Dahl
The Cut
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Melissa:
Apparently There Are 4 Kinds of Introversion
A leading psychologist in the field of personality studies argues that the way “introversion” is typically defined is much too narrow. Here are the four types of introversion. → Read More
‘Light Is My New Drug’
Does light therapy, which uses use different kinds of light, from invisible, near-infrared light through the visible-light spectrum to treat skin conditions, autoimmune diseases, and neurological problems, actually work? The science is convincing. → Read More
If You Can Say It, You Can Feel It
You may recognize the six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise), but recently researchers are adding emotions like aesthetic appreciation, empathetic pain, nostalgia, and awkwardness. → Read More
Eula Biss on Why There’s No Such Thing As an Anti-Vaxxer
Author Eula Biss, who published On Immunity in 2014, gives her thoughts on the 2019 nationwide measles outbreaks. → Read More
I Think I’ve Identified Email’s Fundamental Flaw
I think there’s something we’re overlooking about email, which is: Why don’t we just tell each other when we’re expecting a reply? → Read More
What Is This Exercise Tool and How Do I Get One?
Can you lift weights with one very long tube filled with water? Where can you get such a thing? Maybe you can make one yourself. → Read More
The Best Health and Science Books of 2018
Here’s the Cut’s health and science staff’s picks for best books of 2018, including Why We Dream by Alice Robb and Cringeworthy by the Cut’s own Melissa Dahl. → Read More
5 Reasons Giving Thanks Can Improve Your Life
Sappy, but psychologically effective. → Read More
4 Ex-Evangelical Women on Their Memories of Hell Houses
The Cut spoke to four ex-Evangelical women about their memories of Hell Houses, which are like the Christian version of haunted houses. → Read More
The Bleeding Edge Is 2018’s Best Horror Film
The Netflix documentary, about the American medical-device industry, is terrifying. Particularly frightening are its predictions for the Trump era. → Read More
Three Identical Strangers Is the Best Documentary I’ve Ever Hated
The documentary is essentially a summer blockbuster for history-of-psychology nerds. But its handling of gun suicide is infuriating. → Read More
You’re simply not that big a deal: now isn’t that a relief?
There is a meme that speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the overly self-conscious. Perhaps you’ve seen it; it goes something like this: ‘Brain: “I see you are trying to sleep. May I offer you a selection of your most embarra... → Read More
100 Women on the Wildest Ways Pregnancy Changed Their Bodies
We asked women to tell us about the ways their bodies changed during pregnancy or after giving birth, in part because there simply isn’t a lot of good research tracking these changes. → Read More
Why Office Friendships Can Feel So Awkward
How to navigate the inherent awkwardness of workplace friendships. → Read More
What It’s Like to Be an Abortion-Rights Activist in Ireland
Ailbhe Smyth is an activist who has campaigned for women’s rights, including abortion rights, in Ireland since the 1970s. Here are her thoughts ahead of the May 25 Irish abortion referendum. → Read More
How Language Came to Be — and How We Use It Today
Three new books tackle various mysteries from the world of linguistics: why we swear, why we say “mm-hmm” all the time and how conversation arose. → Read More
7 Insights From Social Science on Raising a Boy
Advice from social scientists and psychologists who study child development on how to raise a boy in 2018. → Read More
Why Trying to Be Less Awkward Never Works
Self-consciousness does not exist to torture you. It exists to help you learn. → Read More
Self-Promotion Advice for the Extremely Self-Conscious
Melissa Dahl, author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, on how to be better at self-promotion when you’re self-conscious. → Read More
The Maybe-Not-Surprising Link Between Depression and Acne
People with the skin condition are more likely to develop depression, according to a new study in the British Journal of Dermatology. → Read More