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The New York Times Magazine

Beauty of the Beasts

Many of the planet’s outrageously gorgeous creatures may be beautiful for beauty’s sake, just as Darwin initially suggested

The Social Life of Forests

Trees exchange resources and information through massive underground networks of root and fungi, ultimately helping one another survive

Out of the Wild

By ceaselessly rearranging ecosystems to suit our whims and needs, we have opened the floodgates for zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 

Mind Blender

A radical new way of studying the brain is transforming our understanding of anatomy, evolution, and intelligence

Can Prairie Dogs Talk?

Do prairie dogs, and many other creatures, have true language?

The Plant Doctor

In ancient botanical remedies, new solutions to antibiotic resistance

Against the Grain

One man’s quest to revive the flavor and nutrition of genuine whole wheat

Can You Really Be Addicted to Video Games?

Video game addiction is a real phenomenon with highly complex origins

Age-Old Question

Is there a limit to the human lifespan and, if so, can we transcend it?

Brain Wave

Brain-computer interfaces, which already enable paralyzed people to move and communicate, may one day fundamentally alter how humans and machines interact

Letter of Recommendation: iNaturalist

Learning the names of our many wild neighbors changes the way we think about nature

Ars Longa

Symbolic thinking emerged in Africa much earlier than previously thought

Heaven’s Microbiome

The wind and clouds are full of microbes that change the weather

The New York Times

The Earth Is Just as Alive as You Are

Once mocked, the idea of a living, breathing planet is gaining scientific acceptance

Earth in Suspension

What happens when Earth’s solar umbilical cord is temporarily severed

Emily Dickinson’s Lost Gardens

Archaeologists are reviving the poet’s beloved orchard and conservatory

The New Yorker

Why Walking Helps Us Think

There’s a deep, intuitive connection between the mind and feet

Are Cats Domesticated?

Cats and humans have a relatively young and ambivalent relationship

Time In Other Animals’ Minds

Time may pass at very different rates for different kinds of creatures

An Orangutan Learns To Fish

Orangutans teach each other to fish, use tools, and almost make fire

National Geographic

Out of Sight

Meet the marvelous microscopic creatures that bring soil to life

The Atlantic

The Trouble With Dentistry

It’s far less scientific, and far more prone to gratuitous procedures, than you might think

Harper’s

The Story of Storytelling

What the hidden relationships of ancient tales reveal about their evolution—and our own

Outside

The Body Electric

Many people struck by lightning endure a lifetime of baffling disorders

Lapham’s Quarterly

The Person in the Ape

The history of our struggle to answer a profound question: are apes people?

Slate

How Emily Dickinson Grew Her Genius In Her Family’s Backyard

Dickinson’s poetic innovations depended on her skills as a gardener and naturalist

Wired

It’s Time to Face Facts, America: Masks Work

Contrary to some official advice, decades of scientific research and lessons from past pandemics clearly demonstrate that universal masking helps prevent the spread of infectious respiratory diseases like COVID-19

Hakai

Fish Feel Pain. Now What?

Despite the ostensible controversy, substantial evidence indicates that fish consciously experience pain

The Lunar Sea

Moonlight’s ancient and mysterious power over earthly life

The Secret History of Bioluminescence

Our long, strange, covetous relationship with bioluminescence

Scientific American

Why The Brain Prefers Paper

Even in the digital age, reading on paper has its advantages

Outgrowing The Grass Lawn

The pristine grass lawn is an ecological disaster. Time to move on

Reviving The American Chestnut

Genetic engineering can rescue chestnut trees from near extinction

Is Sugar Really Toxic?

For most Americans sugar is a source of excess calories, but not a poison

The Genius Of The Elephant

Can we justify elephant captivity given the immense evidence of their sentience?

Modern Farmer

Reinventing the Potato

Plant breeders rediscover the astonishing diversity of the humble spud

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