"The production of the silicon wafers that are used in the chip manufacturing process requires extraordinary levels of purity."

A century ago, an American colony named after Trump's favorite president was thriving on the Isle of Pines. Then came hurricanes and geopolitical reality.

Chris Miller explains the hidden reason that global superpowers are obsessed with Taiwan.

In this excerpt from "Strange Stability," Benjamin Wilson explores how the concept of "deterrence" went from explaining criminal behavior to becoming a nuclear strategy.

From bombed reactors to inflation and blackouts, a cascade of crises is testing the Islamic Republic’s resilience like never before.

The plan — conquer China and push west to attack the Ottomans — was peak imperial hubris, as the Spanish themselves eventually realized.

Bold megaprojects could turn dry depressions into thriving new hubs of life.

A firsthand look at China’s material progress and clean-tech revolution -- and what could happen if we let an authoritarian state steer AI's future.

The African Union argues that the Mercator projection distorts the continent, both in size and global attention.

The JFK Memorial at Runnymede provides a link between America's and Britain's founding documents.

As Beijing encroaches on the territory of the Himalayan kingdom, its ultimate aim is leverage over India.

The veteran economist joins Big Think to unpack the new rules of social media, explain tariffs, and recount his adventures in Albania.

Can you travel by rail from Portugal all the way to Singapore? In theory, yes. In practice? Not so much.

Trump may make America great again — just not in the way he had intended.

In theory, scientists could've produced a deadly virus that accidentally infected lab workers. In practice, we know that didn't happen.

By weaponizing the global economy, the U.S. initiated a new era of economic warfare and transformed how major powers compete.

"Gyroscope-on-a-chip" technology could soon enable us to navigate over long distances without GPS.

Migration statistics should be regarded with wariness as they are difficult to analyze properly and easily manipulated for political gain.

"It’s only natural for us to get America back," quipped Kim Kielsen, former prime minister of Greenland, in 2019.

"There is so much more uncertainty and volatility in a world that is moving fast with big countries that are more at odds with each other and with fewer rules of the road that leaders, companies, and societies are adhering to."

“Technology has always been co-opted for war, but truly intelligent AI, let alone a superintelligence, is a different beast entirely.”

A new railway will switch the Baltic region's train gauge from Soviet to standard European — a megaproject with political, economic, and military dimensions.

Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.

On November 25, U.N. members will meet in South Korea to cap off a series of meetings aiming to reduce global plastic pollution.

The cat-and-mouse game between China and the world’s semiconductor companies is already having enormous consequences.

In 1980, Willy Brandt drew a line across the map that still influences how we think about the world.

"We are not our grandparents. It’s time to start thinking differently," journalist Annie Jacobsen told Big Think.

Modern autocracies operate "not like a bloc but rather like an agglomeration of companies," says journalist and historian Anne Applebaum.

The Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order would be just one quarter the size of Vatican City.

Australia's AAPowerLink boasts three global superlatives: largest solar farm, largest battery, and longest power cable.