CURRENT ISSUE

February 2015

Features

Despite the pain, millions of Chinese women stood firm in their devotion to the tradition

In Russia’s Far East, an orphaned female tiger is the test case in an experimental effort to save one of the most endangered animals on earth

No one even knows how many of the big cats are in the United States

The Turks are now rethinking their historic victory in the terrible battle

More than 50 years after his death, Malcolm X remains a towering figure whose passionate writings have enduring resonance

Scientists search the wine-dark sea for the remains of a ship that sank 2,000 years ago—carrying what is believed to be the world’s first computer

Hidden inscriptions offer new clues to the origins of a mysterious astronomical mechanism

Even in the age of Fifty Shades of Grey, the 18th-century libertine is as shocking as ever

Letters to the Editor

From our readers

Phenomena

How “Fulton’s Folly” transformed the nation’s landscape

Phenomena

Historian Yuval Noah Harari previews his book on the past and future of Homo sapiens

Phenomena

Contrary to earlier claims, a new study shows that evolution may be reversible

Around the Mall

Other questions ask if DNA testing has led to the redesignation of species