All ideas have a history, no matter how inevitable and well-entrenched they may seem to us today. The later Enlightenment […]
356 | Andrea Wulf on Enlightenment, Nature, Romanticism, and Modernity Read More
Evolution with natural selection involves an intricate mix of the random and the driven. Mutations are essentially random, while selection
342 | Rachell Powell on Evolutionary Convergence, Morality, and Mind Read More
Like any machine, bodies occasionally break down, and it’s natural to go in search of a replacement part. Ancient societies
328 | Mary Roach on Replacing Parts of Our Bodies Read More
When we think of the capacities that distinguish humans from other species, we generally turn to intelligence and its byproducts,
322 | Philip Pettit on Language, Agency, Politics, and Freedom Read More
Medical science is advancing at an astonishing rate. Today we talk with leading expert Eric Topol about two aspects of
313 | Eric Topol on the Changing Face of Medicine and Aging Read More
We claim to love all of our children, friends, and students equally. But perhaps deep down you assign a ranking
278 | Kieran Healy on the Technology of Ranking People Read More
Humanity itself might be the hardest thing for scientists to study fairly and accurately. Not only do we come to
273 | Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory Read More
Science is enabled by the fact that the natural world exhibits predictability and regularity, at least to some extent. Scientists
272 | Leslie Valiant on Learning and Educability in Computers and People Read More
Technology is changing the world, in good and bad ways. Artificial intelligence, internet connectivity, biological engineering, and climate change are
270 | Solo: The Coming Transition in How Humanity Lives Read More
The twentieth century was something, wasn’t it? Margaret Mead, as well as her onetime-husband Gregory Bateson, managed to play roles
267 | Benjamin Breen on Margaret Mead, Psychedelics, and Utopia Read More