Health/Science/Technology
This Article Won’t Change Your Mind
The facts on why facts alone can’t fight false beliefs
All the Other Julie Becks and Me
What a quest for my namesakes taught me about the meaning of names in the internet age
How St. Ives's Apricot Scrub Plays on People's Shame
I don’t want no scrubs.
The Different Stakes of Male and Female Birth Control
A clinical trial of contraceptives for men was halted because of side effects—side effects that women have dealt with for decades.
The Rise of Dating-App Fatigue
Services like Tinder and Hinge are no longer shiny new toys, and some users are starting to find them more frustrating than fun.
Tiny Vampires
On living with mosquitoes in the time of Zika
Can This App Make Me Happier?
For months I tried doing little tasks designed to improve my life, hoping they would add up to something big.
‘Americanitis’: The Disease of Living Too Fast
How a 19th-century nervous condition shaped the way modern Americans think about health and happiness
Coincidences and the Meaning of Life
The surprising chances of our lives can seem like they’re hinting at hidden truths, but they’re really revealing the human mind at work.
When Are You Really an Adult?
In an age when the line between childhood and adulthood is blurrier than ever, what is it that makes people grown up?
The Linguistics of 'YouTube Voice'
The attention-grabbing tricks that keep an audience watching, even when people are just talking at a camera
How Friendships Change in Adulthood
“We need to catch up soon!”
Life's Stories
How you arrange the plot points of your life into a narrative can shape who you are—and is a fundamental part of being human.
What Good Is Thinking About Death?
We're all going to die and we all know it. This can be both a burden and a blessing.
Hard Feelings: Science’s Struggle to Define Emotions
While it's possible for researchers to study facial expressions, brain patterns, behavior, and more, each of these is only part of a more elusive whole.
The Private Lives of Public Bathrooms
How psychology, gender roles, and design explain the distinctive way we behave in the world's stalls
The Town That's Building Life Around Sleep
Most people are socialized not to sleep when their bodies naturally want to. A small town in Germany wants to change that.
How I Survived A Week Without Food
I consumed nothing but Soylent, a food-replacing beverage, for a week. Here's what happened to me (and my poop).
Culture
Charles Manson, the Girls, and the Banality of Desire
Two new novels ponder the still-urgent question of what could have compelled young women to do such terrible things.
Dashboard Confessional, or When It Was Cool to Have Feelings
15 years after 'The Swiss Army Romance,' the band is frequently derided as embarrassing or melodramatic. But its ability to connect with a generation who weren't yet over experiencing emotion should be cherished.
Losing the Internet You Grew Up With
A generation raised online risks forgetting its cultural touchstones, thanks to the whims of the web.
Taylor Swift Is So Much More Fun Now That She's Jaded
On 1989, she shows off a new, synth-driven sound and new, entertaining self-awareness.
The Grisly, All-American Appeal of Serial Killers
In trying to make sense of the darkest extremes of human behavior, the public turns murderers into myths and monsters.
A (Straight, Male) History of Sex Dolls
Since ancient times, men have been getting it on with synthetic women. Is this just fancy masturbation, or something more troubling?
The Adult Lessons of YA Fiction
Stories about growth, change, and epiphanies resonate in a different way when you're older.
Playing House: Finally, a TV Show Gets Female Friendships Right
USA's new sitcom understands that many women's most important relationships are platonic.
Nostalgia Fact-Check: How Does The Land Before Time Hold Up?
Fun
How to Be Mindful While Reading Mindfulness Articles
Every piece of content you click on is also a chance to practice being present.
Taylor Swift's Analogies, In Order Of Incomprehensibility
How Elementary School Kids (Plan To) Do Money
Subject Lines of Obama Campaign Emails That Sound Like a Stalker Wrote Them
The Relative-Enjoyability Scale of Strangers
This Article Won’t Change Your Mind
The facts on why facts alone can’t fight false beliefs
All the Other Julie Becks and Me
What a quest for my namesakes taught me about the meaning of names in the internet age
How St. Ives's Apricot Scrub Plays on People's Shame
I don’t want no scrubs.
The Different Stakes of Male and Female Birth Control
A clinical trial of contraceptives for men was halted because of side effects—side effects that women have dealt with for decades.
The Rise of Dating-App Fatigue
Services like Tinder and Hinge are no longer shiny new toys, and some users are starting to find them more frustrating than fun.
Tiny Vampires
On living with mosquitoes in the time of Zika
Can This App Make Me Happier?
For months I tried doing little tasks designed to improve my life, hoping they would add up to something big.
‘Americanitis’: The Disease of Living Too Fast
How a 19th-century nervous condition shaped the way modern Americans think about health and happiness
Coincidences and the Meaning of Life
The surprising chances of our lives can seem like they’re hinting at hidden truths, but they’re really revealing the human mind at work.
When Are You Really an Adult?
In an age when the line between childhood and adulthood is blurrier than ever, what is it that makes people grown up?
The Linguistics of 'YouTube Voice'
The attention-grabbing tricks that keep an audience watching, even when people are just talking at a camera
How Friendships Change in Adulthood
“We need to catch up soon!”
Life's Stories
How you arrange the plot points of your life into a narrative can shape who you are—and is a fundamental part of being human.
What Good Is Thinking About Death?
We're all going to die and we all know it. This can be both a burden and a blessing.
Hard Feelings: Science’s Struggle to Define Emotions
While it's possible for researchers to study facial expressions, brain patterns, behavior, and more, each of these is only part of a more elusive whole.
The Private Lives of Public Bathrooms
How psychology, gender roles, and design explain the distinctive way we behave in the world's stalls
The Town That's Building Life Around Sleep
Most people are socialized not to sleep when their bodies naturally want to. A small town in Germany wants to change that.
How I Survived A Week Without Food
I consumed nothing but Soylent, a food-replacing beverage, for a week. Here's what happened to me (and my poop).
Culture
Charles Manson, the Girls, and the Banality of Desire
Two new novels ponder the still-urgent question of what could have compelled young women to do such terrible things.
Dashboard Confessional, or When It Was Cool to Have Feelings
15 years after 'The Swiss Army Romance,' the band is frequently derided as embarrassing or melodramatic. But its ability to connect with a generation who weren't yet over experiencing emotion should be cherished.
Losing the Internet You Grew Up With
A generation raised online risks forgetting its cultural touchstones, thanks to the whims of the web.
Taylor Swift Is So Much More Fun Now That She's Jaded
On 1989, she shows off a new, synth-driven sound and new, entertaining self-awareness.
The Grisly, All-American Appeal of Serial Killers
In trying to make sense of the darkest extremes of human behavior, the public turns murderers into myths and monsters.
A (Straight, Male) History of Sex Dolls
Since ancient times, men have been getting it on with synthetic women. Is this just fancy masturbation, or something more troubling?
The Adult Lessons of YA Fiction
Stories about growth, change, and epiphanies resonate in a different way when you're older.
Playing House: Finally, a TV Show Gets Female Friendships Right
USA's new sitcom understands that many women's most important relationships are platonic.
Nostalgia Fact-Check: How Does The Land Before Time Hold Up?
Fun
How to Be Mindful While Reading Mindfulness Articles
Every piece of content you click on is also a chance to practice being present.
Taylor Swift's Analogies, In Order Of Incomprehensibility
How Elementary School Kids (Plan To) Do Money
Subject Lines of Obama Campaign Emails That Sound Like a Stalker Wrote Them
The Relative-Enjoyability Scale of Strangers
