Search
History and Society
The Universe isn't just expanding; the expansion is accelerating. If different methods yield incompatible results, is dark energy evolving?
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
7mins
“The idea of evolution by natural selection is, for me, probably the most beautiful idea in biology.”
When you don't have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.
10 years ago, LIGO saw its first gravitational wave. After 218 detections, our view of black holes has changed forever. Can this era endure?
The latest "Superman" film sets Metropolis in the First State.
You are held, shaped, and sustained by a thousand invisible hands.
Throughout history, "free energy" has been a scammer's game, such as perpetual motion. But with zero-point energy, is it actually possible?
In “The Secret History of Denisovans,” Silvana Condemi and François Savatier trace the story of our mysterious hominin ancestor.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
There could be variables beyond the ones we've identified and know how to measure. But they can't get rid of quantum weirdness.
Sikh American scholar and historian Simran Jeet Singh on helping kids imagine — and create — a more empathetic world.
John Templeton Foundation
A conversation with neuroscientist Erik Hoel about the future of consciousness research.
Science helps us imagine the vastness of space and time — and our small but meaningful place within it.
Philosophers once prophesied that evolution would lead to minds far greater — and stranger — than our own.
In the Embers series, historian M.G. Sheftall shares the stories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s last survivors and reveals why their testimony must endure.
3mins
Humans have always had religion. What does this say about our minds? Reza Aslan PhD, Lisa Miller PhD, and Rob Bell MDiv explain.
Unlikely Collaborators
NASA's 1958 charter's top priority was, "the expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space." Is this how it ends?
The host of the Founders podcast joins Big Think for a chat about success, obsession, business genius, human nature, and more.
The Universe was born incredibly hot, and has expanded and cooled ever since. Could life have begun back when space was "room temperature?"
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
The Japanese practice of "tsundoku" bestows joy and lasting benefits to those who make books an important part of their lives.
Social entrepreneur Aaron Hurst explains why the decline of social connection is the greatest challenge of our time — and offers a roadmap for restoration.
2mins
Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar on why the simple act of asking questions (without needing a reason) is one of the most powerful things a human can do.
13mins
“All information technologies up to the 21st century were organic networks based on our organic brain.”
These short books offer insights and meditations on timeless themes, without the time commitment.
39mins
"One of the ways you can see the Roman Empire is it's the worldwide web of its day."