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
The Whale Who Went AWOL
Hvaldimir the beluga whale escaped the Russian navy and became a global celebrity. He’s now at the center of a debate concerning his welfare—and the fate of world’s 3,600 captive cetaceans
Can Prairie Dogs Talk?
Do prairie dogs, and many other creatures, have true language?
Mind Blender
A radical new way of studying the brain is transforming our understanding of anatomy, evolution, and intelligence
The Plant Doctor
In ancient botanical remedies, new solutions to antibiotic resistance
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
Can You Really Be Addicted to Video Games?
Video game addiction is a real phenomenon with highly complex origins
Brain Wave
Brain-computer interfaces, which already enable paralyzed people to move and communicate, may one day fundamentally alter how humans and machines interact
Age-Old Question
Is there a limit to the human lifespan and, if so, can we transcend it?
Against the Grain
One man’s quest to revive the flavor and nutrition of genuine whole wheat
Heaven’s Microbiome
The wind and clouds are full of microbes that change the weather
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
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
Reinventing the Seasons
Seasons are not so much laws the planet obeys as rhythms it discovers
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
The Long, Knotty, World-Spanning Story of String
String is one of the most important and underappreciated inventions in history
Can We Really Be Friends With An Octopus?
Exploring the mystery and multiplicity of human-cephalopod relationships
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