CATEGORIES

TV's Fake Language Master

How one linguist creates obsessively detailed and fully functional languages for Game of Thrones and other shows. 

The Future Will Be Quiet

Why you might not hear sirens, airplanes, or leaf blowers anymore.

A Midlife Career Shift Could Help You Live Longer

A midlife career shift can be good for cognition, well-being, and even longevity.

The Art of Marketing Marijuana

How to make pot seem as all-American as an ice-cold beer.

The Resurrections of David Bowie

What made him one of rock’s most potent lyricists. 

The Truth About Abolition

The movement gets the big, bold history it deserves.

A Guide to Escaping the Algorithms and Your Own Musical Ruts

A guide to escaping the algorithms and your own musical ruts.

The Return of the Black Panther!

A behind-the-scenes look at the revival of Marvel’s first black superhero series, from its fantastical and historical inspirations to early sketches - plus an exclusive preview of the first issue.

The Obama Doctrine, in the President's Own Words

The president explains his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world.

Payday Lending: Will Anything Better Replace It?

Payday lending is a scam, a scourge, an abomination and as the backlash against it grows, it is slowly being regulated out of existence. Will anything better replace it?

How Warren Buffett's Son Would Feed the World

Howard G. Buffett has spent most of his life as a farmer, with little financial support from his father until recently. Now he runs a multibillion-dollar foundation dedicated to ending world hunger.

How Islam Created Europe

In late antiquity, Islam split the Mediterranean world in two. Now it is remaking the Continent.

The Ideas Of The Year 2015

A guide to the intellectual trends that, for better or worse, are informing our national conversation and shaping our lives.

How The New Political Correctness Is Ruining Education

Todays college students can't seem to take a joke.

The Coddling of the American Mind

In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don't like, and seeking punishment of those who give even accidental offense. Here's why that's disastrous for education - and likely to worsen mental health on campus.

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Letter To My Son

"And have brought humanity to the edge of oblivion: because they think they are white." - James Baldwin

American Foreign Policy and the Surge Fallacy

Having misunderstood the lessons of the Iraq War, Republicans are taking a dangerously hawkish turn on foreign policy.

How The Bankers Stayed Out Of Jail

The probes into bank fraud leading up to the crash have been quietly closed. Has justice been done?

Virtual Reality Gets Real

Will you ever see the sun again?

The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Part III-V

Two years after being named NBPA president, the Clippers guard dishes for the first time on Michele Roberts, Donald Sterling and the players looming battle with owners. (Hint: They want revenge.)

The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Part VI-IX

In saving the sacred cow, those whose lives depend on dead animals are being robbed of their livelihood.

If You're Not Paranoid, You're Crazy

As government agencies and tech companies find ever more intrusive ways to influence and probe our thoughts and behavior, one man considers how to stay human in the panopticon.

Hollywood On The Yellow Sea

Wang Jianlin, one of Chinas richest men, is creating a rival to the American dream factory, from scratch.

The Crisis In Democracy

The national constitution center, in Philadelphia, is a monument to the benefits of pessimism. The center, which is situated across an open expanse from Independence Hall, is a superior educational institution, but, understood correctly, it is also a warning about the fragility of the American experiment.

The Brutal Truth About Climate Change

William T.Vollmanns latest opus is one of the most honest and fatalisticbooks about global warming yet written.

How AI Could Give Rise To Tyranny

Artificial Intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate power among a small elite if we dont take steps to stop it.

Can The Pentagon Weaponize The Brain?

The Pentagons R&D arm, DARPA, gave us drones and the internet. Now the agency has a new mission: to fold computers into the brain and nervous systemor maybe vice versa. Silicon Valley is eating all of this up.

Why Are We So Angry?

The untold story of how we all got so mad at one another

Thanks For The Memories?

For the past 13 years, I’ve given Facebook my photos, my videos, my likes, and untold hours of my time. Sifting through the detritus was amusing and surprising—and weirdly sad.

The Minister Of Self-Defense

John Correia, the most popular gun educator on YouTube, wants you to prepare for the worst day of your life.