Columns

Mirrors from China, glass beads from Roman Egypt, and other treasures from far-flung places accompanied ancient Balinese elites to the afterworld.

How do fandoms gain their names?

What sightings of lions in Illinois and pumas in Australia tell us about our relationship with the natural world.

We sat down with crossword editors to talk Viking words, pizza rat, and the joy of wordplay.

Without this restless geologic process, which triggers destructive earthquakes, Earth would not be habitable.

Northern lights in the American South, clusters of huge geomagnetic storms—the Sun is throwing a tantrum right on schedule.

Exploring deindustrialization.

The massive supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago has been blamed for nearly killing off our species. The emerging truth is much more interesting.

Slow Food’s annual "Plant a Seed Kit" encourages home-gardeners to cultivate rare and endangered crops.

For centuries, the cruel industry decimated entire whale species—and claimed countless human lives. Whalers arrived prepared for their own deaths.

Examining why these ubiquitous, obsolete fortifications carry an air of mystery.

A local take on a Czech pastry is fading along with the community that birthed it.

Recent research suggests that our planetary neighbor causes a stir deep under the ocean.

Theansweriscomplicated.

From Password to Mad Libs to Wordle, we pit our favorite lexical pastimes head to head. 

A poignant, 2,000-year-old burial in northern Italy could be the latest evidence of an ancient friendship.

As an undercover investigator, Rose Mackenberg unmasked hundreds of America’s fake psychics.

New discoveries off the Chilean coast include dozens of species new to science.