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The Brutal Origins of Bear-Baiting

The practice exploded in popularity following the Norman Conquest

Did Venus Eat its Own Moon?

The mystery of why our sister planet is alone

Taylor Swift Drops New Insect Species

Thanks to a graduate student who is a “lifelong Swiftie”

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Why the Discovery of the First Short-Tailed Tsushima Leopard Cat Worried Researchers

They were concerned its existence could actually threaten its survival

Gondwana Really Was a Supercontinent

And it helped kick‑start life on Earth

Rope, Twine and Thread: Invisible Technologies of the Stone Age

Missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations like string played a huge role in the daily lives of our ancestors. Researchers are working to weave together new insights from the traces they left behind


Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue

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The Elegance of a Stupid Question

Are computers in mathematics rewriting the definitions of stupid and smart?

The Resistance Is Here

They didn’t plan to be activists. But scientists have united to overturn Trump’s drastic cuts to science.

The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience

Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture

What Archaeology Reveals About the Rise of All-Powerful Rulers

Autocracy wasn’t inevitable in early civilizations—many were more egalitarian. But when riches were there to monopolize, strongmen and inequalities emerged

40 Years Ago, Oceanographers Found the Wreckage of the RMS Titanic

The maritime disaster of 1912 wasn’t fully understood until the shipwreck was rediscovered

Envy at the Ballot Box

Majority voting may make us less willing to tolerate advantages for others

I’m Part of the Team Writing the Next Bible of Psychiatry—For the First Time, the DSM Will Use Biology to Understand Mental Disorders

Part of the challenge of finding a biomarker for mental illness is the environment’s significant influence

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The Giant Squids of the Jurassic Period

This belemnite swam in what used to be Wyoming seas

Elephants Think Before They Act

It’s a remarkable act of impulse control

What a Picture of a Dog Has to Do with Reason and Logic

People who can’t see images in their minds challenge an old philosophical standby

What Makes Humans Stupid

It takes intelligence to get things spectacularly wrong. An essay on our undoing.

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Are Too Many Americans Taking Antidepressants?

Rates of anxiety and depression have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic—as have prescriptions for antidepressants

AI Engineers Are Having Their Oppenheimer “Destroyer of Worlds” Moment

A cascade of regret and apocalyptic short-term forecasts hit social media this week

Rethinking the Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but memory isn’t the only thing it affects

How Did Birds Outlive the Other Dinosaurs?

A preserved feather provides some essential clues

Could You Survive the Oregon Trail?

You might not die of dysentery on the trail these days, but there is still plenty of danger outdoors