Rachel Gutman

Sorry to Burst Your Quarantine Bubble

Pod means something different to everyone, and that’s a problem.

• Rachel Gutman
• November 30, 2020

A Marching Band’s ‘Mountaintop’

How the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps prepared for the big parade

• Rachel Gutman
• November 25, 2020

The Pandemic Safety Rule That Really Matters

Don’t spend time indoors with people outside your household.

• Rachel Gutman
• November 17, 2020

You’ll Probably Never Know If You Had the Coronavirus in January

So far, all available evidence suggests that few Americans were infected in the first weeks of the year. It would be next to impossible to find out who they were.

• Rachel Gutman
• May 8, 2020

A ‘Mic Drop’ on a Theory of Language Evolution

Linguists now think our ancestors might have been chattering away for ages longer than they previously believed.

• Rachel Gutman
• December 12, 2019

A Telling Exchange at the Zuckerberg Hearing

How a question about vaccines made it into a hearing about cryptocurrency

• Rachel Gutman
• October 23, 2019

Disney’s CEO Gets Why Employees Want Their Bosses to Be More Political

People expect companies to step up because other institutions are failing them, Bob Iger said at The Atlantic Festival.

• Rachel Gutman
• September 25, 2019

The Quirk of Collecting That Skews Museum Specimens Male

Only two orders of mammals—containing bats, anteaters, and sloths—are biased toward females.

• Rachel Gutman
• September 11, 2019

A Rare Universal Pattern in Human Languages

Some languages are spoken more quickly than others, but the rate of information they get across is the same.

• Rachel Gutman
• September 4, 2019

Hurricane Dorian Is Not a Freak Storm

Its record-breaking power is in line with recent, worrisome trends.

• Rachel Gutman
• September 3, 2019

The Mystery of ‘Skeleton Lake’ Gets Deeper

Hundreds of skeletons are scattered around a site high in the Himalayas, and a new study overturns a leading theory about how they got there.

• Rachel Gutman
• August 20, 2019

Acne’s Wonder Drug Is a Mental-Health Puzzle

Accutane is already controversial for its possible links to depression. It could also have a range of other effects.

• Rachel Gutman
• July 3, 2019

Another Brutal Fact About the Ice Age Arctic: The Hyenas

As if saber-toothed cats weren’t enough.

• Rachel Gutman
• June 18, 2019

The Care and Keeping of Raccoon Dogs

They should eat a varied diet—and they shouldn’t be allowed to escape.

• Rachel Gutman
• June 1, 2019

The Least Popular Birds in the U.S. Deserve Some Love

They may be small, drab, and shy, but somebody’s got to stand up for them.

• Rachel Gutman
• April 16, 2019

A Big, Weird, Pancake-Shaped Fish Keeps Surprising Beachgoers

The mola is a 5,000-pound bag of secrets.

• Rachel Gutman
• March 21, 2019

How ‘F’ Sounds Might Break a Fundamental Rule of Linguistics

If farming helped introduce f’s and v’s 12,000 years ago, it would challenge the principle that humans’ language abilities haven’t significantly changed since we first learned to speak.

• Rachel Gutman
• March 14, 2019

The Three Most Chilling Conclusions From the Climate Report

Thirteen federal agencies agree: Climate change has already wreaked havoc on the United States, and the worst is likely yet to come.

• Rachel Gutman
• November 26, 2018

Endorsing Dead People Is a Shrewd Political Strategy

Races like Dennis Hof’s show that political parties often have plenty to gain and little to lose from backing deceased candidates.

• Rachel Gutman
• November 7, 2018

Dozens of Massachusetts Homes Exploded. A Gas Expert Weighs In.

Investigators still don't know what happened, but there's one likely explanation.

• Rachel Gutman
• September 14, 2018