Under a Spell Everlasting
Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain, published a century ago, tells of a world unable to free itself from the cataclysm of war
By Samantha Rose Hill Monday, December 2, 2024
Moondance
Experience the marvel that is
night-blooming tobacco
By Leigh Ann Henion Tuesday, September 3, 2024
A Forgotten Turner Classic
Who was George Eyser, the one-legged German-American gymnast who astounded at the Olympic Games?
By Joshua Prager Monday, June 3, 2024
Tales From an Attic
Suitcases once belonging to residents of a New York State mental hospital tell the stories of long-forgotten lives
By Sierra Bellows Monday, March 4, 2024
In the Forest of the Colobus
At a Gambian nature reserve, troops of endangered monkeys—and numerous other creatures—enact a grand drama that plumbs the mysteries of life, death, and regeneration
By Dawn Starin Monday, December 4, 2023
The Grinberg Affair
One of Mexico’s most curious missing-persons cases involves a scientist who dabbled in the mystical arts
By Ilan Stavans Tuesday, September 5, 2023
A Kingdom of Little Animals
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of microorganisms made possible the revolutionary advances in biology and medicine that continue to inform our Covid age
By Laura J. Snyder Thursday, June 1, 2023
The Goddess Complex
A set of revered stone deities was stolen from a temple in northwestern India; their story can tell us much about our current reckoning with antiquities trafficking
By Elizabeth Kadetsky Thursday, March 2, 2023
The Road to Paradise and Back
Fires in the West, hurricanes in the East—what it’s like on the ground as we confront our rapidly changing world
By David Gessner Thursday, December 1, 2022
The Corals and the Capitalist
The key to avoiding an ecological catastrophe might be found in the wealth of nations and the spirit of innovation
By Juli Berwald Thursday, December 1, 2022
Looking Back From the End of the World
What Thoreau can teach us about living life during—and after—the pandemic
By David Gessner Tuesday, June 2, 2020
No Ghost in the Machine
Artificial intelligence isn’t as intelligent as you think
By Mark Halpern Monday, March 2, 2020
This Man Should Not Be Executed
Billy Joe Wardlow murdered a man, but mitigating facts say he should not pay for that crime with his life
By Lincoln Caplan Monday, December 2, 2019
Moral Courage and the Civil War
Monuments ask us to look at the past, but how they do it exposes crucial aspects of the present and has an inescapable effect on the future
By Elizabeth D. Samet Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Reflections on a Silent Soldier
After the television cameras went away, a North Carolina city debated the future of its toppled Confederate statue
By Robin Kirk Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Our Fate Is in the Stars
Today’s space program still does amazing things, but nothing like Apollo. It’s time to begin again.
By George Musser Monday, June 3, 2019
The First President To Be Impeached
Andrew Johnson beat the charges against him by a single vote, but what did the nation lose?
By Brenda Wineapple Monday, March 4, 2019
Paying to Be Locked Up
Private prison companies treat immigrant detainees like convicted criminals—and reap huge profits from the people they hold
By Keramet Reiter Monday, December 3, 2018
Stress Test for Free Speech
Social media are destroying the democratic culture that the First Amendment is meant to protect
By Lincoln Caplan Tuesday, September 4, 2018
In the Labyrinth of #MeToo
Addressing sexual aggression and power in contemporary society also means questioning what the feminist movement has really been about
By Sandra M. Gilbert Monday, June 4, 2018
