Bits and Pieces - March 6, 2015

This is as good a description of the situation in the Middle East and what America can do about it as I've seen. 

Long read on what we've learned from the climate hiatus, what that tells us about science, and why it doesn't mean that global warming has stopped.

A bit of family history that has some relevance to Russia's relations with its neighbors.

Antiquities, museums, how we view the past, and ISIS.

Whole Foods and the scent of death.

Interactive feature on global numbers of nuclear weapons.