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History and Society
Most male mammals have little or nothing to do with their kids. Why is our own species different?
Awe-inspiring moments can be found in our daily lives, and they have surprising benefits for our health and sense of well-being.
Modern robotics are creating a kind of cultural paradox, where the best religion is the one that eventually involves no humans at all.
She apparently learned some valuable business skills as a former prostitute.
Humanity can avoid catastrophe — if we look beyond our blinkered present.
6mins
What beavers and earthworms can teach us about working with, not against, Mother Nature.
8mins
Americans without friends have increased 400% in recent years. Here’s why.
The multiverse is an idea that has gained a lot of traction in popular culture. But what does science have to say about it?
The story of China is the story of global economics.
Million Stories
Dig a 70-mile tunnel under the Bering Strait, and you get this amazing InterContinental Railway, which will reshape the world.
With a finite 13.8 billion years having passed since the Big Bang, there's an edge to what we can see: the cosmic horizon. What's it like?
If the evolution of the Universe is a movie, what happens when we rewind it all the way backward?
Steam cars hit the U.S. market in the 1890s but were largely extinct by the 1930s. Will technology bring them back?
We bring multifaceted selves to our interactions, and in these interactions co-create each other again and again.
Estonia has long been seen as a pioneer in digitizing the democratic process.
Always look on the bright side of death.
The utilitarian “greatest happiness principle” has remained popular for two centuries — is it time for a rethink?
The cathedral is being explored as never before.
"Not my circus, not my monkeys."
8mins
What makes some scientists culturally significant, while others remain in obscurity? Well, there’s a science to it.
Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all uni-plate planets, and may always have been. Here's what's known about why Earth, uniquely, has plate tectonics.
Parking lots are about one-fifth of all land in U.S. city centers, making them "easy to get to, but not worth arriving at."
To what extent will our psychological vulnerabilities shape our interactions with emerging technologies?
Brian C. Muraresku, New York Times best-selling author of "The Immortality Key," unpacks ancient evidence for the widespread ritual use of psychoactive plants.
Researchers discovered something modern humans had never before seen—a flashy Neanderthal horn collection.
Lots of people have seen lots of bizarre events and phenomena that defy our conventional experience. But is there a scientific explanation?
Temperatures in the Sun's core exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. But how on Earth did we actually come to know that?
1hr 19mins
Steven Pinker explains how to cultivate greater rationality in today's complex world.
Yoga is more than just standing on your head. It's about uniting with the divine.
Pick up the paintbrush and get to work.