Jane McGonigal designed a game to help herself recover from a traumatic brain injury — and she thinks playing games can help us all lead our best lives….
Chemist Jack Szostak wants to understand how the first life forms came into being on Earth. He and Steve discuss the danger of “mirror bacteria,” the origin of biology in…
We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into a country as culturally unusual (and as…
Neil Shubin hunts for fossils in the Arctic and experiments with D.N.A. in the lab, hoping to find out how fish evolved to walk on land. He explains why unlocking…
Also: should we all have personal mission statements?
Also: do we subconsciously lie about our major influences?
…0.141 8.97 Ben Wallace 2009-10 0.267 11.00 Tayshaun Prince 2009-10 0.150 5.19 Jonas Jerebko 2009-10 0.147 6.83 Jason Maxiell 2009-10 0.121 3.89 Greg Monroe 2010-11 0.192 8.89 Ben Wallace 2010-11…
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is less reserved than the average banker. He explains why vibes are overrated, why the Fed’s independence is non-negotiable, and…
What do gamblers and referees have in common? When do machines make better decisions than people? And has Stephen been replaced by a computer?
Also: should you feel guilty if you don’t read books?…
What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two…
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.
There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are losing money and waiting for Washington to get out of…
Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S. democracy really in danger, or just “sputtering on”? (Part two…
From baseball card conventions to Walmart, John List has always used field experiments to say revolutionary things about economics. He explains the value of an apology, why scaling shouldn’t be…
Steve loved Michael Lewis’s latest, The Premonition, but has one critique: Why aren’t there even more villains? Also, why the author of best-sellers Moneyball and The Big Short can barely…
A wide-open conversation with three women who guided Richard Feynman through some big adventures at the Esalen Institute. (Part of our Feynman series.)…
It takes a highly skilled stenographer — and some specialized equipment — to transcribe TV dialogue in real time at 300 words per minute. Will A.I. rewrite the script? Zachary…
Also: Where is the line between acronyms, initialisms and gibberish?
Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a…
…for the Pittsburgh Steelers, tackled him low and Palmer’s knee essentially collapsed. (The Bengals went on to lose to the Steelers, a team that happens to be my favorite, but…
…watch the Cleveland Brown play the Pittsburgh Steelers. He doesn’t offer any details of the game other than that the Browns won. Small problem. Those 2 teams did not meet…
…Pittsburgh Steelers fan that I am, I was reading the current issue of Sports Illustrated, which is so black and gold this week that it looks like a Steelers newsletter….
…specifically about my childhood infatuation with a football player, Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and my attempt to get to know him personally many years later. I am happy…
…a divine touchstone. Although the Steelers didn’t reach the Super Bowl that season, they began winning it repeatedly only two years later. In Pittsburgh, it was an article of faith…
It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us?…
Is your favorite treat changing your brain? Why do so many snacks melt in your mouth? And why can’t Stephen replicate his favorite salad dressing? Take the Seven Deadly Sins…
