The Planet Needs Jerome Powell
The Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Reserve has inadvertently become a climate advocate.
Life Up Close
Detective Fiction Has Nothing on This Victorian-Science Murder Mystery
William Saville-Kent was a pioneering coral photographer. Was he also hiding a grisly secret?
The Most Important Vaccine I’ll Get This Fall
After last year’s eerie lull, flu viruses could be poised to return packing a bigger punch.
A Question Only Elon Musk Can Answer
Why hasn’t he gone to space yet?
Arctic Horror Is Having a Comeback
Today’s fictional North is defined by nostalgia for an icier time.
Democrats May Be on the Verge of Climate Disaster
The party’s climate measures suddenly face a tough battle in Congress.
‘Post-Vax COVID’ Is a New Disease
Eventually we might all have to deal with COVID-19—but a shorter, gentler version, thanks to vaccines.
Here Come the First Responders ... And the Engineers?
After a natural disaster hits, volunteers swoop in to assess why some buildings survived and others didn’t.
Elon Musk Must Be Pretty Relieved
SpaceX's first private astronauts have returned to Earth from a three-day stay in orbit.
Sorry, a Coronavirus Infection Might Not Be Enough to Protect You
Anyone who’d rather have COVID-19 than get vaccinated is taking two gambles: that immunity will stick around, and that symptoms won’t.
SpaceX’s Private Astronauts Are Flying Higher Than the Space Station
The tourism era of American spaceflight is really, truly here.
Why I’m Thinking About Alcohol Taxes
And what they have to do with climate change.
Finally, a Private Spaceflight With a Billionaire You’ve Never Heard Of
SpaceX’s first space tourists are launching into orbit this week, and they seem almost normal.
Alabama’s Watery Past Is a Warning
Fossils of the state’s prehistoric sea dinosaurs can tell us a thing or two about how climate change might one day affect modern animals.
We’re Asking the Impossible of Vaccines
Complete protection against infection has long been hailed as the holy grail of vaccination. It might simply be unachievable.
When the Climate Crisis Becomes Unignorable
This summer’s weather has forced a kind of continuous awareness of climate change.
The Plan to Stop Every Respiratory Virus at Once
The benefits of ventilation reach far beyond the coronavirus. What if we stop taking colds and flus for granted, too?
The Search for America’s Atlantis
Did people first come to this continent by land or by sea?
Birds Can Hear Tsunamis Way Before They Hit
Scientists hope the ability can be turned into an early-warning system.
Climate Change Is Already Rejiggering Where Americans Live
Some Hurricane Ida survivors may have no choice but to leave. Sooner or later, people across the country will be in the same bind.
What We Actually Know About Waning Immunity
Reports of vaccines’ decline have been greatly overstated.
Long-Haulers Are Fighting for Their Future
Many people with long COVID feel that science is failing them. Neglecting them could make the pandemic even worse.