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Articles

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“Secure Speech Cipher System”

A new poem by Linda Bierds

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Inside America’s Great Romance With Norman Rockwell

A new biography of the artist reveals the complex inner life of our greatest and most controversial illustrator

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Where Did Yodeling Originate and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked our experts, we got the answers

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Exploring Alien Life, Cat Science and More New Books to Read

Our book reviewer looks at Red Cloud’s feat and the romance of hot air

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The Civil War

Will the Real Abraham Lincoln Please Stand Up?

A former Disney animator makes a provocative discovery by studying photos taken during the Gettysburg Address

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The Human Price of a Centuries-Old Vendetta

In Albania, the revival of a 15th-century code has trapped families in multigenerational blood feuds

It was his weekends as a Civil War re-enactor that urged Joseph McGill to campaign for the conservation of slave cabins.

One Man’s Epic Quest to Visit Every Former Slave Dwelling in the United States

Joseph McGill, a descendant of slaves, has devoted his life to ensuring the preservation of these historic sites

One frame of the Zapruder film has long been considered too graphic for public view.

What Does the Zapruder Film Really Tell Us?

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris deconstructs the most famous 26 seconds in film history

“There was one file on our man in the FBI,” the ex-KGB man says. “He was retired and living in Queens.” That man, he says, was the mole.

When the FBI Spent Decades Hunting for a Soviet Spy on Its Staff

A tip provided by a double-agent for the KGB set off one of the most self-destructive mole hunts in FBI history

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The Civil War

How the Flag Came to be Called Old Glory

New research may settle a family feud over the origins of an American icon

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The CIA’s Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren’t Even Human

As a former trainer reveals, the U.S. government deployed nonhuman operatives—ravens, pigeons, even cats—to spy on cold war adversaries

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Is Your Cell Phone Helping to Fund a Civil War?

The rare minerals used to build your cell phone are coming under scrutiny by federal regulators

Staffers are trained to both prepare food and discuss political issues with customers.

Where War Is What’s for Dinner

Pittsburgh’s Conflict Kitchen has a global menu, with dishes from countries that have diplomatic problems with the U.S.

Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913, in Mondovi, now Drean, a town near Algeria's northeast coast.

Why is Albert Camus Still a Stranger in His Native Algeria?

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famed novelist, our reporter searches the north African nation for signs of his legacy

Science journalist Elizabeth Svoboda claims that we can train to be heroes.

There’s a Hero Inside of Everyone, and We’re Not Saying That to Make You Feel Good

Science journalist Elizabeth Svoboda’s new book examines the roots and reasons of heroism, from evolution and biology to meditation and volunteering

All living organisms have a two-piece structures inside their cells called ribosomes that make proteins—except naked mole rats’ ribosomes, which was just found to have three pieces.

Why Do Naked Mole Rats Live So Long?

The rodents’ usual cellular structure is good at taking information from DNA and making proteins—these proteins may help extend their lifespans

Masons climb up the sides of the Great Mosque to replaster the surface with mud.

How the City of Mud Stays Standing: Meet the Masons of Djenné, Mali

A new exhibition at Natural History explores the ancient craft in a modern world

Lysol’s Vintage Ads Subtly Pushed Women to Use Its Disinfectant as Birth Control

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lysol isn’t even an effective contraceptive

Funding Gaps Have Only Forced Government Shutdowns Since the 1980s

Funding gaps didn’t always bring a shut down of the federal government

Giant Hornets Proliferated During China’s Heatwave, And Now Have Killed 28 People

Entomologists speculate that the exceptionally warm weather in China allowed the aggressive, deadly hornets to proliferate

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