Born to a sea nymph and a king, and trained by the legendary centaur Chiron, Achilles was a demigod destined for greatness. When Greece declared war on Troy, Achilles knew the war was written into his destiny. With horses born from the...

Humans have known about the toxicity of death cap mushrooms for millennia. Yet they continue to pose a significant threat to unsuspecting foragers and mushroom hunters throughout the world. Today, death caps are responsible for more than...

Insects are the world’s most numerous and diverse animals. Even where you’d least expect them in some of Earth’s most extreme environments, there they are. From a scalding volcano, parched desert, to a frigid glacier, insects are living...

Wigs date at least as far back as ancient Egypt, where well-regarded hairdressers crafted them into intricate styles. And under certain ancient Roman dynasties, women’s wigs became particularly ornate. Yet it wasn’t until Louis XIII...

In the 1600s, Isaac Newton conducted a series of experiments to better understand the lights and colors that sometimes appear when your eyes are closed. If you’ve ever sat around an evening campfire or unintentionally glanced at the Sun,...

Your government has introduced a plan to address record-breaking rates of traffic tickets and deadly hovercar accidents. They propose assigning “driver credit scores” to every citizen, but would need to install cameras and microphones in...

Around the world, millions of people have Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and other cognitive abilities. While doctors have studied Alzheimer’s for decades, conducting hundreds...

You’re just one history final away from a relaxing spring break. But you still have so much to study! You decide to follow in the footsteps of many students before you, and pull an all-nighter. So, what happens to your brain when you...

In his 2000 bestseller "The Tipping Point," Malcolm Gladwell told the story of why crime fell in New York City in the 1990s. Now, 25 years later, he's back with a confession and a mea culpa: "I was wrong," he says. He shares how his...

What if solving poverty, caring for nature and fostering well-being were the ultimate goals of the economy, instead of growth for its own sake? Environmentalist and economist Gaya Herrington proposes a shift in thinking from "never...

How do we protect ourselves from being misled online? Counter-terrorism expert Vidhya Ramalingam reveals how disinformation is being weaponized to justify violence — increasingly against climate scientists — and introduces a powerful...

From its life-sustaining energy to its explosive geomagnetic storms, the Sun has many mysteries, says astrophysicist Nour E. Rawafi. He sheds light on NASA's latest endeavor to better understand our fiery neighbor and its impact on the...

Seventy-two percent of the world's population lives under some sort of autocratic rule, says freedom fighter Leopoldo Lopez. In a rousing call to defend democracy worldwide, he shares the story of his imprisonment and exile for leading...

Over his decades of farming and ranching, Gabe Brown has noticed a troubling trend: the conventional farming techniques he used were degrading the soil and harming nature. He shares how his family farm turned things around by adopting...

How can everyday people help foster and protect democracy? Detailing her work fighting for people power as an activist in Madagascar, Ketakandriana Rafitoson discusses how citizen assemblies — meetings where ordinary citizens get...

Lily Yeh calls herself a barefoot artist: she travels the world with a suitcase full of art supplies, working with whoever wants to join her. In an inspiring talk, she shares the fruits of her collaborative art projects that bring color,...

What will the world look like in 2030? International business consultant Nikolaus S. Lang predicts the evolution of a multipolar world, with multiple emerging coalitions of countries acting in new ways to achieve their economic,...

New possibilities for storytelling are emerging faster than at any other time in history, says film producer Mark Grimmer. With an immersive approach to art exhibitions, he shares several multidisciplinary projects — including a...

Billions of dollars are poured into global development every year, but results are lacking, says economist Karthik Muralidharan. Diving into an example with public education, he outlines how smarter resource allocation and evidence-based...

With all that spam clogging your inbox, a more personalized experience with the brands you interact with would be a refreshing change of pace. Sharing insights from his research into what brands can do to improve the experience of the...

What does a warming planet mean for the foods you love? Hosting a dinner party that features a menu of foods that could disappear within our lifetimes, culinary entrepreneur Sam Kass invites us to chew on the reality of climate change by...

Why does losing weight often feel like an uphill battle? Physician Katherine Saunders unpacks how our bodies are wired to store fat, revealing that obesity isn’t simply a lack of willpower — it’s a complex, chronic disease rooted in...

When monarch butterflies migrate, they produce one of the most iconic wildlife spectacles in the world — and provide us with an important indicator of ecological health, says photographer Jaime Rojo. Telling a story about our...

Data isn't just about numbers or trends — it's about capturing the stories that shape our lives, says information designer Giorgia Lupi. Following a long COVID diagnosis, she tracked her symptoms meticulously over four years, the data...