This commentary was originally published by Los Angeles Times on January 7, 2026. A year ago Los Angeles woke up to a red sky. Schools closed, and families packed into cars not knowing when or if they would return. In the end many couldn’t. The series of destructive fires that lasted throughout January also hurt… Continue reading Tech Can Avert Catastrophic Fires. What’s Missing Is Coordination
Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for the Space Agency
December 17, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for Space Science Billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the reins at NASA at a challenging time for the space agency, as it faces budget cuts and technical hurdles that could scuttle its most ambitious missions… Continue reading Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for the Space Agency
Alone Together for Christmas 2025
Podcast: Download MYS399: Are Ouija boards really paranormal? Does God know what time it is? And is dark matter real — or is gravity wrong? Continuing his Christmas tradition of spending the holiday with those spending it alone, Jimmy Akin tackles these and many more questions posed by listeners with reason, faith, and curiosity. Get… Continue reading Alone Together for Christmas 2025
The EU Needs a Plan for the Age of Strategic Globalization
“Weaponized interdependence is an unanticipated byproduct of the grand era of globalization that is drawing to a close.” This observation is made by Henri Farell and Abraham Newman in a recent Foreign Affairs article, expanding on their seminal book Underground Empire. How America Weaponized the World Economy. Indeed, the age of strategic globalization has begun,… Continue reading The EU Needs a Plan for the Age of Strategic Globalization
Excerpt—The Great Shadow, by Susan Wise Bauer
Adapted from The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy, by Susan Wise Bauer. Copyright © 2026 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press. CHAPTER 1: THE PRISM Our bodies are the crossroads where our most private selves meet the world outside, the… Continue reading Excerpt—The Great Shadow, by Susan Wise Bauer
What Is ‘Good’ Digital Learning?
In its new inspection framework, which came into force in November 2025, England’s education and children’s services regulator Ofsted asks schools to provide evidence of how they use digital technologies to support positive outcomes for pupils. With digital strategy and technology integration now firmly on the radar for inspectors, the question for school leaders and… Continue reading What Is ‘Good’ Digital Learning?
Distinct AI Models Seem To Converge On How They Encode Reality
Read a story about dogs, and you may remember it the next time you see one bounding through a park. That’s only possible because you have a unified concept of “dog” that isn’t tied to words or images alone. Bulldog or border collie, barking or getting its belly rubbed, a dog can be many things… Continue reading Distinct AI Models Seem To Converge On How They Encode Reality
Small Boats and Shifting Threats: Britain Can’t Keep Fighting Yesterday’s Battle in the Channel
As 2025 drew to a close, the Council of Europe met for preliminary discussions on illegal migration, producing both a joint statement and a separate declaration by 27 countries, including the UK. Among the issues highlighted, one problem received insufficient attention: we need to improve the way we adapt to the changing nature of Channel… Continue reading Small Boats and Shifting Threats: Britain Can’t Keep Fighting Yesterday’s Battle in the Channel
The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025
December 18, 2025 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025 From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025 By Allison Parshall edited by Andrea Thompson Getty Images/Andriy Onufriyenko The human brain has 86 billion neurons connected by… Continue reading The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025
A Knowledge Deluge Threatens Disaster Research
Isaac Newton described science as the process of “standing on the shoulders of giants”—building on earlier discoveries to attain higher levels of knowledge. Synthesis of existing scientific literature is among the ways that researchers climb atop those giants’ shoulders. But that system is getting shaky as interdisciplinary work gets more complex and the volume of… Continue reading A Knowledge Deluge Threatens Disaster Research