culture
A preview of the latest novel by the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author.
In this excerpt from “America’s Most Gothic,” Leanna Hieber and Andrea Janes examine the history and folklore of Maine’s vanished schooner.
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.
In “That Book Is Dangerous,” author Adam Szetela examines the rise of the “Sensitivity Era” in publishing and how outrage campaigns try to control what books authors can write and readers can read.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
In this excerpt from “Tales of Militant Chemistry,” Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
These short books offer insights and meditations on timeless themes, without the time commitment.
From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.
One does not simply make a meme go viral.
Some books are remembered for their lyrical prose or engaging stories. Others are remembered for simply being weird.
Before becoming America’s most infamous assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a magnetic actor who was beloved by audiences and courted by critics.
In “Dinner with King Tut,” Sam Kean examines how a burgeoning field is recreating ancient tasks to uncover historical truths.
Want to study philosophy but skip some of its heavier tomes? These five novels are a great place to start. (Existential despair guaranteed.)
With “Karla’s Choice,” Nick Harkaway had an impossible mission: maintain his father’s legacy while staying true to his voice.
The platform is a digital Royal Society for today’s greatest minds — and it could play an essential role in shaping the next civilization.
You no longer need an army of followers to stand out as a writer — “one great piece is all it takes,” says Perell.
English could settle into a state of “diglossia” where a gulf exists between the written form and its spoken varieties, but the two are bound into a single tongue.
From medieval myths to Shakespeare’s plays and modern cinema, British culture kept the Roman Empire alive long after its fall.
Are we enslaved by the finer things in life?
The comedian and musician behind the viral hit “BBL Drizzy” shares the books that shaped his thinking and approach to art.
What happens when scientists “write what they know”? Some amazing science fiction stories.
In this preview from “The Saucerian,” author Gabriel Mckee explains how the combination of fantastical stories and obscure bureaucracy launched the “space age of the imagination.”
In “Enough Is Enuf,” Gabe Henry traces the history of simplified spelling movements and the lessons they teach us about language.
Hugo-winning author Ken Liu explores what early cinema and Chinese poetry can teach us about AI’s potential as a new artistic medium.
That Nietzsche quote might not mean what you think it does.
How the cult hit sci-fi show imagines a “techno-realist” future.
The first in a series of short stories by the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author that inspired the cult hit “Pantheon.”
In his book, “Birds, Sex and Beauty,” Matt Ridley explores why learning isn’t always nature versus nurture.
Be more like Goldilocks.