Next Reads

In this excerpt from “The Hypocrisy Trap,” Michael Hallsworth explains why accusations of hypocrisy don’t always damage credibility.

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

In this excerpt from “The Great Math War,” Jason Socrates Bardi explores how Georg Cantor revolutionized mathematics and reshaped how our finite minds conceived of the infinite.

From white holes to dark stars and multiverses, James Riordon explores the bizarre exhibits of general relativity’s “cryptozoo.”

In this excerpt from “The Breath of the Gods, Simon Winchester explores how the Sumerians first named the wind and shaped our early understanding of the natural world.

In this excerpt from “The First Eight,” Congressman Jim Clyburn shares the story of Robert Smalls, the man whose audience with Lincoln may have saved the Union army.

In this excerpt from “The Shortest History of AI,” Toby Walsh explores the history of the Logic Theorist, the first AI to prove mathematical theorems.

A preview of the latest novel by the National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.

In this excerpt from “Playful,” Cas Holman surveys the research that brought the neuroscience of play into the mainstream.

In this excerpt from “One Hand Clapping,” Nikolay Kukushkin makes the case that neurons reveal how memory, meaning, and even consciousness emerge from the same biological roots in humans, sea slugs, and beyond.

In this excerpt from “Lucky By Design,” Judd Kessler explains how opportunity costs shape our choices and why time is the real price we pay.

A preview of the latest novel by the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author.

In this excerpt from “The Art of Spending Money,” Morgan Housel lays out the spending and financial habits guaranteed to end in regret.

In this excerpt from “Governing Babel,” John Wihbey explores how AI is reshaping online moderation by offering tools that can help human moderators, but also raises the risk of disinformation and digital chaos.

In this excerpt from “America’s Most Gothic,” Leanna Hieber and Andrea Janes examine the history and folklore of Maine’s vanished schooner.

In this excerpt from “The Formula for Better Health,” Tom Frieden explores how Alice Hamilton transformed public health in her fight against lead poisoning.

In this excerpt from “Seven Rivers,” historian Vanessa Taylor explores how Ancient Egyptian pharaohs harnessed the Nile River to build empires and secure their power.

In this excerpt from “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…,” Steven Pinker examines how crying may have evolved as part of a suite of emotional expressions aimed at strengthening social bonds.

In this excerpt from “Facing Infinity,” Jonas Enander examines how John Michell conceived of “dark stars,” or massive bodies with enough gravity to trap light, all the way back in 1783.

In this excerpt from “The Story of CO2,” Peter Brennan explains how changes in the Earth’s ecosystem led to fire, which in turn led our ancestors to become the “fire apes.”

In this excerpt from “Tales of Militant Chemistry,” Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.

In “The Headache,” Tom Zeller Jr. explores one of the human brain’s most enduring, and painful, enigmas.

Before becoming America’s most infamous assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a magnetic actor who was beloved by audiences and courted by critics.

In “After the Spike,” Dean Spears and Michael Geruso show why policy, rather than high population density, has the most significant impact on the environment.

In “Human History on Drugs,” Sam Kelly explores what the research can tell us about one of history’s most brilliant — and troubled — artists.

Most of us think we’re good listeners, but we’re wrong — and it’s ruining our relationships.

In this excerpt from “Agents of Change,” Christina Hillsberg tells the story of Martha “Marti” Peterson, the first female case officer stationed in Soviet Moscow.

In “The Gift of Not Belonging,” Rami Kaminski explains why group consensus may hinder the original thinkers who help advance society.

In “The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs,” Riley Black reveals the bold mammals that thrived in the Age of Reptiles.

In “Raising AI,” De Kai argues that today’s AIs are already more like us than we think they are.