Search Results

He was one of the most intelligent men on the planet. But he had a knack for making people laugh, and it helped him spread his message of science and discovery.

If you go all the way back to where neutral atoms first formed, you can see the cosmic microwave background. Buried in the details is the Universe’s first evidence for […]

Earth is old enough to have been home to other industrialized civilizations so far back in the past we have no idea they were there. What we’ll leave behind may offer clues of what we could look for as evidence.

NASA and SETI invite the public to nickname a small icy world, or pair of worlds, in the distant Kuiper Belt ahead of a New Horizons 2019 flyby.

A map shows the dominant religion in each of the United States’ counties. Evangelicals dominate the most areas geographically. Catholics are the majority faith in densely populated areas.

BICEP2 scientist Brian Keating’s new book is honest and insightful, but just as notable for what it fails to recognize. Imagine what it’s like to be a scientist working on […]

Nye has spent almost his whole career teaching kids, but he’s hated by right-wing ideologues for spreading the word of science.

20 years ago, we discovered that distant galaxies were accelerating away from us. Here’s how the Universe makes it happen. Matter and energy tell spacetime how to curve; curved spacetime tells […]

Can you have hope in the face of death? For believers this is somewhat easier, but non-theists require a different set of philosophical tools.

For the Pluto fans, another sad state of affairs: your favorite world won’t make it. Nothing on Earth lasts forever, and that’s a truth that even extends to all the objects […]

Go back to school, Agora style. Philosophy can train us to respond to life’s problems rather than merely react. One such training camp is coming to Baltimore. 

The past is gone, the future not yet here, only the present is now. But why does it always flow the way it does for us? Every moment that passes finds […]

Dark energy means that the Universe’s expansion is accelerating. But how big will it get, and how fast? Our Universe, as we observe it today, is a vast, enormous place, full […]

Here’s why your brain’s biases are a win for fake news, and a pay day for Facebook.

Before you follow another “tip” or “trick,” there’s something Alan Alda wants you to know.

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Author Mary Gaitskill on vulnerability, alienation, and Cerebus the Aardvark. 

A close look at the fabrication costs and value of an iPhone reveals that China gets a lot of (low-paid) jobs, while the profits flow to other countries. This puts the China vs. Trump trade war in perspective.

Considering that the United States remains the world’s only superpower, that begs the question: How informed are Americans when it comes to their country’s vast global power?

Researchers study whether bearded men have advantages in fighting.

Sure, the old Greek guys from 2,400 years ago get all the glory. But these living philosophers have a ton to say about life, the universe, and everything as it relates to right now. 

Are conspiracy theories ever true? Here are a few occasions when the government really did what the conspiracy theories claimed.

Today’s launch of the Falcon Heavy is being streamed all over the Internet this afternoon

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on the mind-boggling awesomeness of space. 

You need to have personality awareness to protect yourself from and deal with potentially high-conflict people on a regular basis without getting hooked by them.

AI may help organizations overcome unconscious biases in hiring and increase diversity.

Being bored is great. It’s where we come up with our best ideas, and how we become better people by being able to mentally solve our biggest personal problems. So why are we destroying boredom with our phones?

Really puts the whole “don’t give up until you’re dead” thing to shame.

Global security expert Richard A. Clarke explains the traits of a “Cassandra”—someone who predicts colossal disasters—and why people very rarely listen to their warnings.

Two meditation pioneers, Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson, answer that question in their new book, Altered Traits.

What’s really involved in snuffing out a country’s nuclear capabilities—and is that the right war to be waging?