Plate Tectonics: Global Thermostat

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The continental game of bumper cars known as plate tectonics is part of a global recycling system crucial to maintaining long-term temperature constancy—and giving rise to life.

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

A soldier in camouflage uniform holding a Ukrainian flag stands amid rubble, facing a damaged building.

Books

How neuroscience is rewriting the story of war

In “Warhead,” neuroscientist and national security adviser Nicholas Wright explains how the brain navigates warfare and why it is our ultimate weapon (and instrument for peace).

Coastal Mediterranean village with white buildings, a sandy beach, colorful boats, and clear turquoise sea under a bright blue sky.

The Present

Seaflooding: How we could engineer the next Mediterranean

Bold megaprojects could turn dry depressions into thriving new hubs of life.

Collage with "The Nightcrawler" text, an image of a tree, two photos of elderly hands working with clay—reminiscent of Warren Buffett’s wisdom—and partial faces of an older person, all highlighted by orange accents.

Business

Lessons from two of the greatest investors of all time

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a goatee, wearing a blue jacket over a light shirt, stands in front of a beige, textured background.

13.8

“Mystery humbles you”: Scott Derrickson on why skepticism and faith aren’t enemies

The “Doctor Strange” director says mystery shifts your worldview — “not in a metaphorical sense, but in a deeply experiential one.”

Starts With A Bang

The red color of Mars is mere inches deep

The surface and atmosphere is colored by ferric oxides. Beneath a very thin layer, mere millimeters deep in places, it’s not red anymore.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Frontline’s The Vaccine War: The Politics of Medicine and Parents

Last week Seth Mnookin, author of the Panic Virus, kicked off the inaugural event in the new Science in Society Film and Lecture series at American University, sponsored by the […]