The Ones We Sent Away
I thought my mother was an only child. I was wrong.
College Football’s Power Brokers Are Destroying It
What colleges’ relentless drive for more television revenue is doing to the sport
The Unspoken Language of Crosswords
Solvers must develop strong intuitions about what entries are possible and how they can be clued.
A Sweet, Surrealistic TV Show
Entertainment musts from Morgan Ome
Why the Populist Right Hates Universities
American conservatives are taking cues from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán because elite education is a convenient enemy for authoritarian populists.
Tables and Gems
A Big Week for Floating Rocks
A physicist explains LK-99 and the appeal of “unidentified superconducting objects.”
The Psychological Terms We Misuse
Boundaries, gaslight, attachment style, and other jargon that gets misinterpreted online
Sea Life’s Sense of Smell Is Going Haywire
Crabs and fish weren’t built for oceans this acidic.
America’s Latest Health-Care Debacle Has an Absurd Cause
Millions of people are losing Medicaid because of paperwork.
The Candy You (Probably) Won’t Get to Try
On the sadness of the pseudo-snack—produced not to be eaten but to be talked about
What Barbie Understands About Mother-Daughter Relationships
I’m a child psychiatrist. Here’s what Barbie got right.
What the Best Places in America Have in Common
And what they reveal about alleviating poverty across the country
When Alabama Killed Jimi Barber
Elizabeth Bruenig on what happens now that, after a year of botched procedures, the state has executed a man without incident
Western Diplomats Need to Stop Whining About Ukraine
Allies can be exasperating. But try being invaded by your neighbor and lectured by everyone else.
The Problem With ‘Why Do People Live in Phoenix?’
America’s hottest city is still booming.
You’re Probably Drinking Enough Water
If you’re a healthy person worried about hydration, odds are, you’re getting plenty. But no one can say exactly what the right amount is.
The Next Big Abortion Fight
Republicans are trying to make it harder to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio. Will voters go along?
Reading in the Dog Days of Summer
Dive back into our summer reading list for some new suggestions.
Doctors Suddenly Got Way Better at Treating Eczema
New drugs target specific parts of the immune system, with startling results.