How a Church in Alabama Used Hitler to Recruit Youth

Life Savers Ministries of Opelika misguidedly used a quote by the German dictator on a billboard; some claim the Internet is not destroying communication, but rather improving it; meanwhile, a study finds that losing sleep at night causes the brain to produce more of the Alzheimer’s protein. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

Church Billboard Quotes Hitler on the Importance of Educating the Kids Pity the youth ministry. It’s a real struggle recruiting kids to your cause.

How Book Biz Dug Its Own Amazon Grave Books, perhaps not surprisingly, are the business of second-class businessmen, who twice in the last generation have lost control of their fate to retailers, allowing them to pretty much dictate pricing terms and product specifications.

From North Korean Poet Laureate to Defector As a state-appointed poet laureate, Jang Jin Sung reached the pinnacle of elite life in North Korea.

The Internet Is Changing the Way We Communicate for the Better Panic about the rise of social media is largely overhyped and misplaced.

In Defense of Schlock Music When Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” first rumbled into earshot in the summer of 1981, few presumed it would have much staying power.

Our Brains Are Messing With Our Memories The mind is a much more confusing place than you would imagine.

Who Is Slender Man? He lurks in the background of gritty black-and-white photos — a gaunt, too-tall figure with skeletal limbs.

What 1939 Thought Fashion in 2000 Would Look Like In this British Pathé clip, fashion designers predict what the future of fashion will be.

Right-Wing Hypocrites Demand Obama Secure Bergdahl’s Release… Until He Does You’ve got to hand it to American conservatives.

The Media Does Not Have the Power to Decide the Existence of Trans People The Chicago Sun-Times was right to apologize for syndicating hate speech, but this isn’t the first time journalists have failed us, despite the Laverne Cox breakthrough.

Sleepless Nights Raise Brain Levels of Alzheimer’s Protein After a night of no sleep, even a healthy brain has higher than normal levels of the protein that forms the signature tangles in Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the Netherlands.