What surprises lurk in our sewage? How did racist city planners end up saving Black lives? Why does Arizona grow hay for cows in Saudi Arabia? Three strange stories about…
In their chase for a global audience, American movie studios spend billions to make their films look amazing. But almost none of those dollars stay in America. What would it…
Why have fertility rates dropped so dramatically? Do fathers or mothers get more happiness from parenting? And how does birth order affect a child’s future?…
A tiny behavioral-sciences startup is trying to improve the way federal agencies do their work. Considering the size (and habits) of most federal agencies, this isn’t so simple. But after…
Interest in houseplants has exploded in recent years. But what causes floral trends, and prices, to grow? Zachary Crockett sows a few seeds….
We explore votes for English, Indonesian and … Esperanto! The search for a common language goes back millennia, but so much still gets lost in translation. Will technology finally solve…
…So if you consider that most NFL divisions include at least one team with no hope of finishing first (this year’s Bengals, Chiefs, Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, Vikings, and Manning-less Colts,…
Linguist and social commentator John McWhorter explains how good intentions may be hurting Black America — and where the word “motherf*cker” comes from….
One of the most storied (and valuable) sports franchises in the world had fallen far. So they decided to do a full reboot — and it worked: this week, they…
…Alan Page (one of my heroes growing up routing for the Vikings, now on the Minnesota Supreme Court who wore #88)? If Eric Torpy discounts the future at 20% a…
Will Angela finally break up with Philadelphia? Is New York really the unhappiest city in the U.S.? And are there trash tornadoes in the metaverse?…
…a recent N.F.L. game between the Bears and the Vikings, played on a frigid Monday night in Chicago, I learned that the city has a prominent meteorologist named Amy Freeze….
…offense. The origins of the spread are disputed, but most observers agree that the principal Pioneer was Darrel “Mouse” Davis, the 1970s-era coach of the Portland State Vikings.? In the…
The San Francisco 49ers, one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world, also used to be one of the best. But they’ve been losing lately — a lot…
Pro footballer and star podcaster Jason Kelce is ubiquitous right now (almost as ubiquitous as his brother and co-host Travis, who’s been in the limelight for his relationship with Taylor…
We assembled a panel of smart dudes—a two-time Super Bowl champ; a couple of N.F.L. linemen, including one who’s getting a math Ph.D at M.I.T., and our resident economist—to tell…
…win, over the Vikings, in 1975. I went on an extended BIRGer binge – Basking in Reflected Glory – that had me high as a kite for about six months….
What do NASCAR drivers, Glenn Beck, and the hit men of the N.F.L. have in common?
…the shield volcano, Skjalbreiður (the name means broad shield). Until this trip I didn’t realize that the “shield” name was given by the Vikings! In addition to erosion, glaciers affected…
The debut of a live game show from Freakonomics Radio, with judges Malcolm Gladwell, Ana Gasteyer, and David Paterson….
…is inherently about a clash of cultures, I was pretty shocked to read the following: Some parents at J.H.S. 22 … were suspicious, viewing Mr. Waronker as too much an…
The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s…
March 22 was World Water Day, and two excellent photo essays draw attention to the issue. Foreign Policy shows images of water crises in places like China, Pakistan and Iraq,…
…photography in the magazine, by the way, and will do so even more in 2008. So I don’t think we’re overlooking anything. However, when the Brazilian edition runs 22-24 page…
…where 22% more solar energy lands each year (according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory), and yet only one in 90 homes harvest it. If San Francisco’s residential solar panels…
Covid-19 has shocked our food-supply system like nothing in modern history. We examine the winners, the losers, the unintended consequences — and just how much toilet paper one household really…
…stop something else that’s going on.” “So instead of hiding the 22 Marlo Stanfield murders and playing it down, the mayor should make it out to be a gang war?”…
There are 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. What are the costs — and benefits — of our modern-day Tower of Babel? (Part 3 of the “Earth 2.0” series.)…
Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and how math underlies musical composition. Sarah, a professor at the…
Celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli joins us to co-host an evening of delicious fact-finding: where a trillion oysters went, whether a soda tax can work, and how beer helped build an…
