Love Is Magic—And Also Hormones
Scientific inquiry is an attempt at illumination, not an act of desecration.
Book Review
The Man Who Transformed American Theater
How August Wilson became one of the country’s most influential playwrights
The Owls Are Not What They Seem
The birds possess even uncannier powers than we’ve imagined.
Lost Histories of Coexistence
James McBride’s new novel tells a story of solidarity between Black and Jewish communities.
Life Has Always Been a Performance
Nicole Flattery’s new novel shows that human nature hasn’t really changed, just our technologies.
Can Nature Lie?
The lying that we humans do requires a more sophisticated kind of cognition than a bird, flower, or fungus can muster.
Colson Whitehead Loses the Plot
Crook Manifesto is both powered and limited by its most absorbing characteristic: the author’s voice.
The Secret to a Good Conversation
A new cultural history embraces talk as an open-ended source of temporary delight.
How BTS Did It
Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS manages to layer an emotional history on top of the professional rise of the world’s biggest band.
The Cult Classic That Captures the Stress of Social Alienation
The Japanese novelist Osamu Dazai wrote, better than almost anyone, about the thin line between isolation and belonging.