Why suicide? (The New Yorker)
by Barrett Swanson
Suicide can be understood in terms of evolutionary theory and brain structure. It can also be a question of social relationships, economics, and technological change—or a more basic issue of the disappearance of meaning.

Spirits in the courtroom (The Washington Post)
by Kristof Titeca
International criminal courts are steeped in Western norms and belief systems. So how can they fairly consider atrocities committed by soldiers whose actions are founded on a belief in magic and spirit possession?

What makes a voice sexy? (The Cut)
by Edith Zimmerman
With men, we generally agree that the lower the voice, the more attractive. With women, it’s a whole lot more complicated.

The mysteries of lichen (The Atlantic)
by Ed Yong
Once upon a time, scientists had trouble believing that lichens represented two cohabitating, mutually dependent lifeforms. Now, they’re finding that they’re much more complicated than that—a discovery that might change how we think about organisms more broadly.

Fun with fat (Atlas Obscura)
by Rohini Chaki
Long before today’s body positivity movement, fat men’s clubs reacted to a culture that feared obesity.

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