How humans moved large rocks to construct monuments has fueled many theories, even though it is a matter of physics and coordinated efforts by a large workforce. A more interesting concept to explore for prehistoric cultures is what made people care so much about...

By the late 2010s, China’s “social credit system” (SCS) was increasingly viewed as a notorious government effort to monitor personal behavior, shape public conduct, and control access to services. While the system traces back to the 2000s, it was officially expanded and formalized in...

While many people are fascinated by nonhuman animals, most do not have the time, money, or opportunity to travel to remote natural habitats where these animals live freely. Instead, zoos relocate animals for the convenience of humans, offering guaranteed viewings and encounters that fit our...

President Donald Trump promised to unleash mass deportations on immigrants during his presidential campaign. But he has gone much further, with the disappearing of hundreds of Venezuelan nationals from the United States to El Salvador’s notorious gulag. It’s a warning shot—one that has serious consequences...

Until now, at least 14 different species have been assigned to the genus Homo since it emerged in Ethiopia some 2.8 million years ago revealing branching evolutionary stories of survival, intermixing, and extinctions. Archaeology is increasingly allowing us to glimpse into one of...

I saw macaques for the first time along the river’s edge on the island of Borneo in 1983. I was in a boat with scientist and conservationist Dr. Biruté Galdikas on our way to the orangutan rehabilitation and research site she established on the island....

Authoritarianism, white male supremacy, and wealth supremacy are key catalysts for racial inequity, wealth inequality, restrictions on reproductive rights, and many other problems of the modern era. With these values embedded in our culture, even well-meaning people can unintentionally propagate unhealthy attitudes and...

A quiet panic has broken out within immigrant communities across the United States ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. Mixed-status families are expecting to be separated, DACA recipients foresee their status being revoked, those with Temporary Protected Status are...

A free-flowing river supports abundant fish and wildlife, provides drinking water, and other intangible recreational benefits. But humans have sought to block rivers with dams for millennia. While dams have provided benefits like hydroelectricity and water storage, they have also been ecologically disastrous. Besides...

The free-roaming range of a child has been reduced dramatically in only a few generations. About three generations ago, most children were free to travel the full range of their town, but they rarely went beyond it except when accompanied by adults. Two generations ago,...