Book Excerpts

The New Black Body

My case for equal-opportunity cosmetic enhancements

• Chloé Hilliard
• January 28, 2020

The Remarkable Life of Jessie Benton Frémont

A century and a half ago, a pioneering woman redefined the role of the political spouse.

• Steve Inskeep
• January 12, 2020

Gen-X Women Are Caught in a Generational Tug-of-War

The average caregiver is a 49-year-old woman, and the demands of caregiving seem likely to increase.

• Ada Calhoun
• January 7, 2020

The Railroads That Created Christmas

Before Americans could have gift-giving on a massive scale, they needed a way to move all those goods around.

• Ainissa Ramirez
• December 25, 2019

Why Singin’ in the Rain Is an Almost Perfect Musical

The 1952 film exemplifies the key elements of a beloved Hollywood genre.

• Jeanine Basinger
• November 14, 2019

In Syria, America Had No Good Options

When every policy choice was terrible, finding the least bad one became the only way forward.

• Susan Rice
• October 7, 2019

Silicon Valley Is One of the Most Polluted Places in the Country

Microchip manufacturers contaminated the groundwater in the 1980s. Almost 40 years later, the cleanup still isn’t complete.

• Tatiana Schlossberg
• September 22, 2019

STEM Is Overrated

College is not just job prep, and the job market changes constantly.

• Caitlin Zaloom
• September 10, 2019

You Can’t Keep Your Parents’ Skulls

Under U.S. law, it’s nearly impossible to get permission to decapitate and de-flesh a relative’s remains.

• Caitlin Doughty
• September 4, 2019

How I Became an ‘Accidental’ Professor

My love and respect for the craft of writing fuel my commitment to teaching it. But it was a long time before I could envision academia including someone like me.

• Jennine Capó Crucet
• September 3, 2019

The Paradox of Peanuts

Charles Schulz’s kid characters are precocious, cruel, and nihilistic. They’re also among the most compelling in children’s literature.

• Bruce Handy
• August 29, 2019

The Brazen Way a Chinese Company Pumped Fentanyl Ingredients Into the U.S.

Yuancheng used an army of young, perky salespeople to peddle illegal chemicals to Americans.

• Ben Westhoff
• August 18, 2019

The Military-Style Surveillance Technology Being Tested in American Cities

In the eyes of the law, there’s no difference between a photo taken by a smartphone through an airplane window and one taken by an ultrapowerful camera in a helicopter hovering over your backyard.

• Arthur Holland Michel
• August 3, 2019

‘The Fires of Their Ascent’

An excerpt from Of a Fire on the Moon, Norman Mailer’s seminal 1969 account of Apollo 11

• Norman Mailer
• July 21, 2019

The Bizarre Ways America’s First Spy Agency Tried to Overthrow Hitler

From undercover heiresses to hormone-injected vegetables, the early days of the Office of Strategic Services were marked by colorful hires and wild schemes.

• Sam Kean
• July 9, 2019

The Philosophy Behind the First American Dictionary

In 1789, Noah Webster called on the newly independent United States to claim its own national version of the English language.

• Peter Martin
• May 28, 2019

The Lucrative Black Market in Human Fat

In 16th- and 17th-century Europe, physicians, butchers, and executioners alike hawked the salutary effects of Axungia hominis.

• Christopher Forth
• May 26, 2019

John Okada’s No-No Boy Is a Test of American Character

The re-release of a classic novel about Japanese Americans’ incarceration during World War II is an opportunity to reflect on the nation’s persistent internal conflicts.

• Karen Tei Yamashita
• May 21, 2019

The Problem With Social-Media Protests

Online movements can burn out faster than campaigns that spend months or even years forging in-person connections.

• Antonia Malchik
• May 6, 2019

Recruiting Women to Online Dating Was a Challenge

Match.com started with questions about weight and explicit sexual preferences. Half the population wasn’t that into it.

• David Kushner
• April 6, 2019