Two siblings standing back to back with serious expressions

The Invention of Sibling Rivalry

Sibling jealousy feels like a universal problem, but most parenting experts didn't even acknowledge it until the early 20th century.
Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus)

The Occult Remedy the Puritans Embraced

Why did the Puritans embrace a medical treatment that looked suspiciously like black magic?
Illustration: A mob attacking the Quarantine Marine Hospital in New York because they believed that its use was responsible for the numerous yellow fever epidemics. Original Publication: Harper's Weekly - pub. 1858 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Source: Getty

When New Yorkers Burned Down a Quarantine Hospital

On September 1st, 1858, a mob stormed the New York Marine Hospital in Staten Island, and set fire to the building.
Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein: We Are Sleepwalking toward Apocalypse

Klein talks about her new book, On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal, and the youth movement for climate action.
Antechinus stuartii

Death and Mating

Semelparous organisms reproduce exactly once in a lifetime.
Two women speaking beside a water cooler in an office

Streaming Television Might Just Bring Us Together After All

A look at TV watching as a social activity, from the "water cooler" network shows of yore to today's "second screen" live-tweets.
A woman vaping

Vaping Sickness, Modern Menopause, and Lab-Made Embryos

Well-researched stories from High Country News, Scientific American, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A solar-panel equipped ship moves down the Amazon River

Can Sustainable Travel in the Amazon Help Reduce Forest Fires?

A rainforest evangelist hopes that Brazil’s 55-million year old jungle can survive 21st century human impact.
Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, Italy

Why Are Cities Filled with Metal Men on Horseback?

The original inspiration for the now-ubiquitous equestrian statue, a classical bronze of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, was almost melted down and lost forever.
A fire burns in a section of the Amazon rain forest on August 25, 2019 in the Candeias do Jamari region near Porto Velho, Brazil

Can Fire Destroy the Amazon?

The massive fires of 2019 have many asking the question: is there a "tipping point" beyond which the Amazon cannot recover?