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October 2021
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Features
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In Their Element
A photographer takes the plunge into forbidding waters off Norway for an extraordinary encounter with orcas
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Sake in the USA
The ancient Japanese art of brewing a fragrant alcoholic drink from rice is being reinterpreted by Atsuo Sakurai in an unlikely setting. Chefs and critics say cheers
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The Plague Among Children
It was highly contagious, lethal and mysterious. Then medical experts developed treatments and vaccines, and the dreaded affliction disappeared—but not entirely
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The Wonder of Avi Loeb
The physicist thinks we might have glimpsed evidence of an alien civilization. Despite controversy, he’s determined to find more
Departments
What It Takes
A successful Secretary must acknowledge the Institution’s failures as well as successes—and celebrate its capacity for change
Discussion
Your feedback on the 9/11 cover story, the history of the pickup truck and more
Material Witness
For historians, quilts are much more than just decorative covers for a bed
The Other Sparta
Fierce? Yes. Tough? You bet. But it’s time to see beyond the myth of the super-warrior
Key to a Lost Language
How an 1,800-year-old statuette illuminates an endangered Latin American culture
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