Sooner or later a technology capable of wiping out human civilization might be invented. How far would we go to stop it?

The antics in postwar Nordic children’s books left propaganda and prudery behind. We need this madcap spirit more than ever.

The schism at the heart of cosmology.

How did feeling good become a matter of relentless, competitive work; a never-to-be-attained goal which makes us miserable?

Life in America without dental care.

So you’re surrounded by idiots. Guess who the real jerk is.

For mountaineers, it’s not enough just to get to the top—it’s how you get there that matters.

An ethnography.

Websites and apps are designed for compulsion, even addiction. So why aren’t they regulated like drugs or casinos?

How English became the weirdest major language in modern use.

The art and science (or lack thereof) of water dowsing.

Will watching too much pornography ruin sex?

We are disgusted by butchery, even as we eat more meat than ever.

Squeamish though they might be about God, even the totally irreligious can find some comfort in praying.

Junky, out-of-date science fuels jury errors and tragic miscarriages of justice. How can we throw it out of court?

Why the boom in scientific progress stalled.

A mom on hitting menopause as her daughter hits adolescence.

Elon Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars.

Marital advice columns from the past.

On childhood amnesia, or why we don’t remember much before age seven.

On wine’s sacred and profane history.

Why humans love to watch other creatures.

At a high-profile Libertarian conference, everyone agrees government should be smaller, but what should replace it is much more contested.

Why we love repetition in music.

How warming and acidifying oceans endanger the entire marine food chain.