Latest Articles

Latest Articles

The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.

A person holding a large stack of folders and binders next to a grayscale image of old, weathered gravestones.
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei joins us to discuss why living a more meaningful life requires confronting what matters and removing what doesn’t.
A man in business attire sits in an office chair with his hand covering his face, surrounded by red circles. One circle says “WORK WISE.”.
Once you decide what kind of person someone is, every interaction becomes supporting evidence. Here’s how to interrupt the cycle.
blue marble not 24 hours apollo 17
As the Earth spins and wobbles on its axis and revolves elliptically around the Sun, each day differs from the last. "24 hours" isn't right.
A person wearing old-fashioned clothing and a red hat is holding and reading an open book, appearing focused and slightly puzzled.
Classicist Natalie Haynes joins us to discuss the trials and joys of learning about ancient Greece and its myths.
A person with gray curly hair, wearing glasses and a bright pink outfit, sits on a chair against a white backdrop, framed by a colorful, abstract painted arch.
1hr 14mins
OB/GYN Jen Gunter charts the science, history, and mythology of menstruation and menopause, offering a guidebook to navigate the rocky terrain of our modern healthcare landscape.
A bright flash of light in the Universe
In general relativity, white holes are just as mathematically plausible as black holes. Black holes are real; what about white holes?
Book cover of “Nary a Horse Left Standing” by Lee Alan Dugatkin, featuring an old illustration of men by a horse-drawn streetcar, with bold white and yellow text overlaid.
The Great Epizootic of 1872 gave James Law the evidence he needed to challenge centuries of thinking surrounding the origins of disease.
Pencil sketch of bare feet walking, with orange outlines of footprints marking the path on a light background.
In technology, we make cumulative advances that withstand time. Not so in politics and ethics, argues philosopher John Gray.
Book cover with the title “Kobuk the Destroyer” by Alex Davies, featuring a bear firing a cannon and a flying rabbit reminiscent of Jimmy Doolittle’s daring spirit, all set against a striking red background.
Jimmy Doolittle pushed aircraft to their limits and, in the process, helped turn flight testing from daredevilry into a discipline.
Raisin bread expanding Universe
The evidence that the Universe is expanding is overwhelming. But how? By stretching the existing space, or by creating new space itself?
Two people appear on either side of text that reads, “Your Brain Creates Pain,” with a yellow and black background and a small logo in the top right corner.
41mins
Pain isn't a signal from the body. It's a decision made by the brain. Pain psychologist Rachel Zoffness explains why hurt and harm are not the same, why most chronic back pain has no structural cause, and how sleep, stress, and loneliness become ingredients in your own personal pain recipe.
Book cover for “Leadership Intelligence” by Caroline Webb, featuring the subtitle “Science-Backed Strategies for Mastering 21 Everyday Management Challenges” on a blue gradient background, highlighting essential leadership habits for success.
A wise leader must learn to widen their perspective and lighten their mental load.
time
We experience time as real. But what if it's only an illusion: an illusion that's inherently relative? Does time fundamentally even exist?
A distorted 3D globe shows exaggerated elevation and depression, with color gradients of orange, white, and blue representing different surface levels.
The Earth is neither flat nor round. Actually, it's somewhere between a potato and a billiard ball.
Book cover for “Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress” by Martin Seligman, featuring geometric shapes on a beige background with black text, reflecting themes of self-efficacy and personal growth.
Decades of research show that self-efficacy can be strengthened with a few surprisingly simple strategies.
Split image: Left side shows a close-up of a DNA double helix; right side, a child outdoors creating a large bubble with a pink wand.
12mins
Doctors told Noa Greenwood's family that she wasn't expected to live past age ten. This new biotech changed that, and opened the doors to a whole new wave of medical funding, treatment, and care.
BridgeBio
Three yellow silhouettes of people walk along upward-pointing arrows, symbolizing leadership development, on a black grid background filled with intersecting blue and white arrows.
5 steps to build a leadership development program that drives business impact
There's a speed limit to the Universe: the speed of light in a vacuum. But you can beat the speed of light. Just travel through a medium!
halo evolve cosmic time millennium II
Generations ago, cosmologists asserted that the Universe might not just be the same in all directions, but at all times. But is that true?
A composite image of the Milky Way galactic center shows orange gas clouds, purple radio bubbles, and green and blue background stars in space.
Today's Milky Way only forms stars slowly. Our galactic center, where the star-forming rate is highest, gives a unique window into our past.