“Everyone's image of [Ancient Rome] is based on modern movies. In some ways, I think those were rather impressive, but they got some things terribly wrong.”

A preview of the latest novel by the National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.

Reading classic books can teach you as much about the present as the past.

“The idea is that we move from a place of wanting the world to conform to what we like [towards] not needing other people to be different from who they are.”

Rivals may try to outnumber us with fleets of cheap vessels. Our path is to out-innovate them.

Philosophy asks if free will is real. Neuroscience reveals why the answer is more complicated than we expected.

“Deep down the natural endpoint of this whole goal of looking for planets is to answer the question: are we alone?”

The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.

"Think of it like a transcontinental railroad — not the fastest way to move a lot of mass, but certainly the most efficient,” Jared Isaacman said about nuclear electric propulsion.

Why the best CEOs make their first year both a personal transition and a profound moment of institutional renewal — with this quartet of skills.

By deeply imaging a large volume of space, COSMOS-Web provides JWST's widest cosmic views. Its gravitational lenses reveal a big surprise.

"One of the largest mitigating factors against getting traumatized is who is there for you at that particular time."

Sleeping better helps you think better, which helps you live better. Three experts explain why quality sleep is imperative to brain function, problem solving, communication, and more.

In this excerpt from "The Formula for Better Health," Tom Frieden explores how Alice Hamilton transformed public health in her fight against lead poisoning.

“The media is 10x more likely to describe experiences of being alone as negative, as compared to positive.” Psychologist Ethan Kross shares how reframing the idea of loneliness can help us feel more peace when we’re on our own.

“This is a world in which we've essentially given ourselves the tools to stop the construction of the most important product in American lives in the places where Americans often most want to move.”

Michelle Tillis Lederman defines a connector as a relationship-focused individual, emphasizing that nurturing professional networks with the same intent as personal relationships can significantly enhance career development, allowing connectors to achieve their goals more efficiently.

Marketing professor Jonah Berger emphasizes that understanding linguistics can enhance our communication skills, enabling us to fit in, persuade, engage, and positively influence others, especially with the aid of advanced language analysis tools and his SPEACC Framework.

This class explores the link between neurobiology and productivity, teaching participants to optimize willpower and focus through strategies like meta-awareness, the Pomodoro Technique, and the importance of rest, while experts share insights on achieving peak performance amidst modern distractions.

A childhood spent under the spell of sleight-of-hand taught me skepticism, curiosity, and the habit of looking beneath appearances.

How can the brain — a piece of matter — love? Physics and chemistry explain the material world, but they can’t explain why it feels like something to be alive. This is the mystery of consciousness, according to these experts.

In this excerpt from "When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...," Steven Pinker examines how crying may have evolved as part of a suite of emotional expressions aimed at strengthening social bonds.

Alexis Ohanian didn’t treat his relationships with the media as purely transactional — and his star rose in spectacular fashion.

A physician, a psychologist, and a mindfulness teacher explain what stress does to your body and mind, and how to use it to get smarter and stronger.

Biologist Tyler Volk PhD, psychiatrist Bruce Greyson MD, and palliative care physician BJ Miller MD, reveal how confronting mortality can improve the way we live.

Since even before Einstein, physicists have sought a theory of everything to explain the Universe. Can positive geometry lead us there?

A neuroscientist, a psychologist, and a psychotherapist discuss how emotions are stories built from old experiences.

The African Union argues that the Mercator projection distorts the continent, both in size and global attention.

Happiness researchers Robert Waldinger MD, Tal Ben-Shahar PhD, and Peter Baumann explain why the happiest people aren’t happy all the time.

Venture capitalist and Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake talks to Big Think about why AI won’t make the internet better, her influences beyond tech, and more.