When can a kid play outside alone? Two parents, one stranger, and the state collide.

Americans believe they can outthink suffering. Historian Kate Bowler explains how our obsession with self-help, optimization, and positivity became a kind of secular religion.

Higher productivity drives increases in wealth, wages, and living standards. AI could be just what we need to solve many of today’s problems — if we manage the gains wisely.

Toxic positivity isn’t optimism. It’s denial. Historian Kate Bowler explains why our obsession with “good vibes only” is making it harder to cope.

Santa's done really well this year.

The case that a bipartisan movement structured around progress and reform may be reaching critical mass.

History shows that progress often depends on activists at both ends of the spectrum.

These expert-recommended books reveal how big ideas can shape — and sometimes redefine — human progress.

From neuroscience to philosophy, experts reveal why compassion may be the most important human skill we have.

It's not just about the home; it's about everything.

Getting drunk might be bad for you but good for us.

In “On Liberalism," Cass Sunstein argues that liberalism can only endure if we reclaim its core commitments and revive its spirit of freedom and hope for the future.

Sikh American scholar and historian Simran Jeet Singh on helping kids imagine — and create — a more empathetic world.

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

In this excerpt from "Agents of Change," Christina Hillsberg tells the story of Martha “Marti” Peterson, the first female case officer stationed in Soviet Moscow.

If we wish to tackle the very real problems society faces, we require expert-level knowledge. Valuing it starts earlier than we realize.

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

Do we really need to be religious to run a society well?

“In our current social and physical climate, there's a sense of fatalism, a fear that bringing someone new into the world might be a bad thing.”

With undersea cables, AI education, and more, the tech giant is helping create Africa’s “digital decade.”

An evidence-based policy movement is arming the fight with tools and programs that are more effective than ever before.

What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?

In 1980, Willy Brandt drew a line across the map that still influences how we think about the world.

“Why is it that the quality of our information did not improve over thousands of years? Why is it that very sophisticated societies have been as susceptible as stone age tribes to mass delusion and the rise of destructive ideologies?”

Historian Timothy Snyder talks with Big Think about how true liberty requires both negative and positive freedoms.

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

"No matter how long you’ve been doing a job or how good people say you are, you need to care as if you’ve never done it before."

In a world of rising cynicism, a celebration of our capacity to create, adapt, and thrive.

Testing is an attempt to measure intelligence. But is intelligence really what’s getting measured? A neuroscientist weighs in:

The philosopher Skye C. Cleary explores what being authentically happy looks like in a world where so many can't be.