Who’s Running the Defense Department?
The key criteria for those in the top-tier positions appear to be loyalty, wealth, and ideological fervor, not competence.
How to Realize Your Own Love Supreme
True romance is one of the deepest human experiences. To experience it fully, seek transcendence.
I’ve Never Seen Parents This Freaked Out About Vaccines
Since COVID, parents have more questions and more concerns.
The Scientific Literature Can’t Save You Now
You can cite peer-reviewed research in support of almost any claim, no matter how absurd.
Trumpflation
Everything is going to be a little more expensive now.
Night on Earth, Seen From Orbit
Recent images from the Earth’s night side, seen from the International Space Station
Photos of the Week: Eagle Fight, Moon Dog, Ice Castles
Slime-covered capybaras in Argentina, a chaotic fireworks festival in Taiwan, the day of the patron saint of beekeepers in Bulgaria, a Buddhist prayer ceremony in Thailand, and much more
Why the COVID Deniers Won
Lessons from the pandemic and its aftermath
The Anti-Social Century
Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.
So About That Asteroid That Could Hit Earth ...
Even the smallest odds of an impact sound alarming, but scientists’ ability to calculate them is actually good news.
The Day the Ukraine War Ended
The conflict isn’t over, but its fate now appears clear.
History Will Judge the Complicit
Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?
How America Got Mean
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.
The Strange, Lonely Childhood of Neko Case
In a new memoir, the singer-songwriter peels back the mystery of her life—and her lyrics.
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
The House Where 28,000 Records Burned
Charlie Springer spent a lifetime building his music collection. The Los Angeles fires incinerated it.
Elon Musk Is Breaking the National-Security System
DOGE’s takeover of federal agencies is a counterintelligence crisis.
The Great Surrender
Senate Republicans have confirmed Trump’s least qualified Cabinet nominees—and given up their role as an independent check on the president.
A New Kind of Crisis for American Universities
The ivory tower has been breached.
DOGE Is Failing on Its Own Terms
The Trump administration’s cuts to university research grants will make America sicker and poorer in the long run.