Welcome to The Porthole
Short sharp looks at science.
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Pico Iyer’s Wide-Awake Silence
The author on losing his home to wildfire, finding strength in solitude, and his new book Aflame
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The Trouble with the Swamp
Wetlands in film are overwhelmingly associated with discomfort, misery, and death
Yes, We Can Care About People Who Don’t Exist Yet
How to jumpstart our empathy for future generations.
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You Are What Your Ancestors Didn’t Eat
The impact of famine may be written in the bodies of future generations -
Breaking a Cycle of Apocalypse
John Larison’s new novel The Ancients suggests some societies are built for cataclysm -
Why Do Some People Look Like Their Dogs?
The resemblance isn’t just a comical coincidence -
The Genius of Benjamin Franklin
Richard Munson’s 3 greatest revelations while writing Ingenious, his biography of Franklin, the scientist. -
Does Life’s Happiness Have a Shape?
How we feel about life as we age is not as universal as we thought.
