Vacuum Tube Valley
Silicon Valley’s first high-tech enterprise, Federal Telegraph Co., provided communications for naval ships and radio stations at far-flung US imperial bases.
Divest or Invest? A Climate Change Question
Divestment from fossil fuel corporations is a common call of climate activists, but divesting could be counterproductive to efforts combating climate change.
Central American Volcanoes Offer Clues to Earth’s Geological Evolution
Along 1,100 kilometers, from Mexico to Costa Rica, lies the Central American volcanic arc, where the variety of magma types make for a geological paradise.
Five Things You Probably Have Wrong about the T. rex
How well do you really know Tyrannosaurus rex, the so-called Tyrant Lizard King?
Something Old, Something Pneu
Pneumatic tubes offered a leap forward in business and communications, in the office and across the city.
Why TRAPPIST-1 Is Our Favorite Alien Planetary System
The TRAPPIST-1 system is a treasure trove of possibilities and questions. Observations by JWST have just begun.
Is the COP28 Climate Deal Enough?
The agreement mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created by burning fossil fuels and formally adopts a climate loss and damage fund.
New Zealand’s Quest to Save Its Rotund, Flightless Parrots
DNA sequencing, GPS tracking and tailored diets are slowly restoring the endangered kākāpō.
Coming Up Kudzu
Employed as a symbol of the American South or used as shorthand for unchecked growth, kudzu has demonstrated a tenacity beyond all imagination.
Cinchona: A Legacy of Extraction and Extirpation
The source of quinine, cinchona tells a story about the value placed on parts of plants and how that value can be extracted and distorted in support of empire.