Cooked is a from-the-atom-on-up exploration of the ways in which ingredients are transformed.

Michael Pollan, World War II and More Recent Books Out This Month

Read about the transformation of food and what happens to it once its in the digestive system

A crew member dives overboard in the film.

Kon-Tiki Sails Again

A new film recreates the epic voyage—and revives the controversy over its legendary leader, Thor Heyerdahl

Aviation, curiously, is the same age as the motion picture business.

How David Mamet Became a Memorabilia Addict

The famed playwright reminisces about how he got hooked on collecting artifacts from the golden era of air travel

Cai Guo-Qiang reviews one of his gunpowder drawings at the Grucci fireworks plant.

Meet the Artist Who Blows Things Up for a Living

With ethereal artworks traced in flames and gunpowder, Cai Guo Qiang is making a big bang

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What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution

Photographer Thierry Cohen tries to reconnect city dwellers with nature through his mind-blowing composite images—now at New York City’s Danziger Gallery

Will going to class become quaint?

Free Online Courses Mean College Will Never Be the Same

They’re the biggest innovation in higher education in years, but are they a threat to small universities and community colleges?

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Now You Know the History of G.I. Joe. And Knowing Is Half The Battle

The evolution of the All American Hero from artist’s mannequin to action figure

An estimated 2 million Peeps are produced each year. Many find homes in Easter baskets, but some are incorporated into drinks and desserts.

Five Ways to Cook with Peeps

From brownies and milkshakes to casseroles and salads, Easter’s favorite marshmallow can go a long way in the kitchen

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On the Menu This Easter in Newfoundland: Seal Flipper Pie

This breaded pie made from seals has been consumed during the Lenten season since 1555

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The History of the Minivan

The iconic car changed the way families drove

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The Otherworldly Calm of Wolfgang Laib’s Glowing Beeswax Room

A German contemporary artist creates a meditative space—lined with beeswax—at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

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Tip of the Iceberg: Our Love-Hate Relationship With the Nation’s Blandest Vegetable

It’s never been the most nutritious green at the grocers, but the versatile lettuce has a knack for sticking around on the dinner table

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The Debate Continues Over How to Rebuild New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward

Five years in, the merits of Make It Right’s housing project are under new scrutiny

The Way We Wore team, from left, Jascmeen Bush, Shelly Lyn, owner Doris Raymond, Sarah Bergman, Kyle Blackmon

A Refreshing Take on Fashion Television: A Q&A with L.A. Frock Stars’ Star Doris Raymond

A new series brings high-end style to vintage wear

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48 Finalists from the National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Contest

From rice to glitter, video and paint, these works reflect the best of contemporary portraiture

Perito Moreno, Plate I, 2010. Patagonia

Caleb Cain Marcus’ Photos of Glaciers on a Disappearing Horizon

With a surprisingly light touch, the New York City-based photographer instills feelings of solitude in his images of massive glaciers

An advertisement for Dole canned pineapple, circa 1940s.

It’s Pineapple Season, But Does Your Fruit Come From Hawaii?

While Hawaii was once the big kahuna in pineapple production, it’s since been overtaken by other global powers

Over the course of more than 2,000 years, countless travel books have transformed little known places into popular destinations.

The Top Ten Most Influential Travel Books

Even before there were armchairs, voracious bookworms traveled the world just by reading

Koss SP3 headphones

A Partial History of Headphones

Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah

Artist’s rendition of a ethane lake on Titan.

Haiku Highlight the Existential Mysteries of Planetary Science

Conference-goers put into verse the ethane lakes on a Saturn moon, the orbital paths of Martian moons and a megachondrule’s mistaken identity

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