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Journalism

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The Early History of Faking War on Film

Early filmmakers faced a dilemma: how to capture the drama of war without getting themselves killed in the process. Their solution: fake the footage

Reality Check: Does Oxytocin Keep Committed Men Away from Other Women?

The latest oxytocin study says the hormone makes committed men stay faithful, but some skeptics cry foul

How to Learn a Language in Less Than 24 Hours

A new company called Memrise says their app can teach you an entire language within hours

Geronimo as a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1898

Geronimo’s Appeal to Theodore Roosevelt

Held captive far longer than his surrender agreement called for, the Apache warrior made his case directly to the president

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Uncovering the Truth Behind the Myth of Pancho Villa, Movie Star

In 1914, the Mexican rebel signed a contract with an American newsreel company that required him to fight for the cameras. Too good to be true? Not entirely

Lewis Lapham, the legendary former editor of Harper's, who, beginning in the 1970s, helped change the face of American nonfiction, has a new mission: taking on the Great Paradox of the digital age.

Lewis Lapham’s Antidote to the Age of BuzzFeed

With his erudite Quarterly, the legendary Harper’s editor aims for an antidote to digital-age ignorance

This man is ghost riding. Wikipedia says so.

In Honor of Wikipedia’s Near-Completion, Here Are Its Most Awesomely Weird Entries

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The Journalist Who Says ‘I Told You So’ About Lance Armstrong

For 13 years, journalist David Walsh pursued his theory that Lance was doping, but the USDA’s recent announcement finally vindicated his long-held beliefs with hard evidence

Inside Google’s Top Secret Data Centers

It’s the physical network of thousands of fiber miles and servers that create the multibillion-dollar infrastructure that makes Google Google

Downer News Bums Out Women But Not Men

Bad news delivered through the media increases women’s sensitivity to stressful situations, new research finds, but men are immune to such effects

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The First Anchorman Ever Was Not Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite is widely referred to as the world’s first anchorman. But a man named John Cameron Swayze might have beat him to the punch

Clerics take part in a protest against innocence of Muslims, an anti-Islamic film

Cartoons of Mohammed, Anti-Jihad Subway Ads and Other Provocations, Past and Future

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What We Do (And Don’t) Know About the Movie Muslim Innocence

Everything you thought you knew about Sam Bacile, the movie , and the riots, is probably wrong

A celebratory Silent Spring float

Crazy Lies Haters Threw at Rachel Carson

Silent Spring turns 50 this month, but Rachel Carson’s ecological game-changer was not always the beloved green bible it is today

Check Out the Milwaukee Police’s Mind-Blowing, Crime-Busting Site

The Milwaukee Police are tackling crime with creativity and great web design

Starfish Prime 0 to 15 seconds after detonation, photographed from Maui Station, July 9, 1962.

Going Nuclear Over the Pacific

A half-century ago, a U.S. military test lit up the skies and upped the ante with the Soviets

Fanny Blanker-Koen crosses the finish line to become the first triple champion of the 14th Olympic Games.

The Paris Olympics

How Fanny Blankers-Koen Became the ‘Flying Housewife’ of the 1948 London Games

Voted female athlete of the 20th century, the runner won four gold medals while pregnant with her third child

Human population growth. Data: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Why the Population Time Bomb Hasn’t Finished Exploding

Documenting “the Last Green Spot Between NYC and Philly”

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The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon

John D. Rockefeller Sr. epitomized Gilded Age capitalism. Ida Tarbell was one of the few willing to hold him accountable

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