Yemen crisis children

Why Yemen Suffers in Silence

Yemen is suffering a major humanitarian crisis. How did the country get to such a precarious state, and why aren't Americans paying more attention?
Omega Nebula (M17)

The Bold Future of the Outer Space Treaty

With President Trump calling for a “Space Force” and private enterprise increasingly invested in space, what of the dream of international peace?
laser gun

The Truth about Laser Guns

The U.S. and most other large militaries have been trying to develop laser weapons for decades. Has China created the first portable laser gun?
Soldiers training in the Israeli Defense Forces

Is Mandatory Military Service Good for a Country?

A prescribed period of civic service may offer benefits, promoting active citizenship across the socioeconomic divide and creating strong social ties.
A WWI-era U.S. Navy ship with dazzle camouflage

The Camouflage That Dazzled

During WWI, artist and British naval officer Norman Wilkinson came up with an idea so crazy it just may have worked: Dazzle Camouflage.
Barack Obama Nobel Peace Prize

Did Barack Obama Deserve the Nobel Prize?

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He took the award not as a reward for accomplishments but as a "call to action."
Atom earth

Atoms for… Peace?

Iran's nuclear program is in the news, again. But what's the backstory on how the country went nuclear in the first place?
Bengal tiger

How War Affects Wildlife

A multi-decade study of wildlife in Africa found that armed conflict—even infrequent, low-level conflict—was enough to cause declines in a wide range of wildlife populations.
Rosie the Riveter

How Conflict Boosts the Economy

Historically speaking, we are living in unusually peaceful times. But does peacetime mean bad things for the economy, which is often boosted by war?
nuclear blast

The Doomsday Clock: Menacing Metaphor of the Nuclear Age

Pessimism is on the rise. Mercurial politicians, rising nationalism and isolationism, international bluster, a changing climate, mass protests, ...