Latest

Text graphic displaying the words “The Latest” in large, bold, black serif font on a light background.
There's some, but not overwhelming, evidence that dark energy is evolving. What would it take for a "Big Crunch" to be our cosmic fate?
Book cover of The Devil Is a Southpaw by Brandon Hobson featuring two black birds; text on left reads "an excerpt from" on a light blue background.
A preview of the latest novel by the National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.
solar system model
Scientists are notoriously resistant to new ideas. Are they falling prey to groupthink? Or are our current theories just that successful?
A color-coded map of Asia shows four migration phases from China, with arrows pointing toward Papua New Guinea and the Andaman Islands, both circled in yellow.
The plan — conquer China and push west to attack the Ottomans — was peak imperial hubris, as the Spanish themselves eventually realized.
A collage featuring Andrew Markell thinking at a desk, a close-up of a handshake, and a person standing alone, overlaid with swirling red and green arrows.
Andrew Markell — philosopher, martial artist, and CEO advisor — argues that true endurance comes from desire, ritual, and learning to evolve through chaos.
ufo lights liverpool
Physicist Daniel Whiteson challenges the notion that all intelligent species would eventually uncover the same laws of nature. Do you agree?
A woman in a white dress sits on a chair by a window, reading a book in a softly lit room with a piano nearby, embodying the quiet charm of why read old books.
Reading classic books can teach you as much about the present as the past.
Split image showing a vintage sailing ship with an American flag on the left and a modern electric boat labeled "Navier" on the right, both on the water with blueprint sketches in the background.
Rivals may try to outnumber us with fleets of cheap vessels. Our path is to out-innovate them.
An older man sits on a chair gesturing with his hands in front of a blue background featuring a black sinusoidal waveform and an arrow.
Why the most enduring organizations stop chasing trends and start designing systems that prioritize people over processes.
A middle-aged man with glasses and a beard, resembling Jimmy Wales, poses in front of a light-colored background featuring Wikipedia's globe logo and various language characters.
Wales shares with Big Think his thoughts about the future of media, the promise of AI, and our need to build a culture on trust.
On the left, text reads "an excerpt from" on a pale blue background; on the right is Goldie Chan’s book cover for "Personal Branding for Introverts.
Introverts have social batteries that will drain over time, but they can be recharged with good energy hygiene. Here’s how.
DUNE neutrino detectors
Nearly 100 years after being theorized, the strange behavior of the neutrino still mystifies us. They could be even stranger than we know.
An illustration of an eye outline formed by two black arrows, with a blue Earth at the center where the iris would be, on a textured beige and peach background.
An ode to the data visualization tools that help us see what is too vast, complex, or interconnected for the naked eye — from planetary systems to pandemic trends.
An image of El Gordo, a massive galaxy cluster captured by Hubble
The planet, the Solar System, and the galaxy aren't expanding. But the whole Universe is. So where does the dividing line begin?
A stylized orange and white face-like shape composed of wavy lines and interconnected geometric patterns on a grid background.
A look at how criminals are using unrestricted chatbots and how cyber defenders are fighting back.
big bang
For 13.8 billion years, the Universe has been expanding. But that couldn't have been the case for an eternity, and science has proven it.
A pencil sketch of a clown with raised arms, wearing a pointed hat and a polka-dot costume, on a blue and off-white background.
It's no wonder great writers swear by messy first drafts.
Out-of-focus trees in the foreground with a clear full moon visible in the dusk sky, evoking a scene worthy of tristan gooley’s natural navigation.
Natural navigator Tristan Gooley joins us to discuss the philosophy of reading nature’s hidden clues — and how relearning this ancient skill can help us see the world, and ourselves, with greater awareness.
A collage featuring server racks, a robotic hand reaching for a human hand, and network diagrams, with the text “The Night Crawler” at the top—an homage to Eliezer Yudkowsky’s explorations of AI and human connection.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.