In the mid-thirteenth century, William of Rubruck, a Flemish Franciscan friar, traveled to the Mongol Empire. The main purpose of his visit was to undertake missionary work, but he also wrote a colorful account of his travels for King Louis IX of...

Without archaeology, there is no way to truly examine economic inequality, its causes, and its consequences over very long time spans on a global scale. Until recently, most grand narratives that purported to tell the story of human inequality over time tended to focus either...

Our ancestors’ ability to recognize water sources was crucial to their survival. As a result, the attraction to lustrous materials is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history and is evident among prehistoric artifacts, ancient civilizations, and modern consumer culture. ...

Your community needs leaders who care about the environment. As climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity threaten our planet’s health, we can’t afford to wait for governments or corporations to solve these problems. We need individuals who are willing to take action, inspire others,...

Two years into his prison term for a 2020 murder, Ivan Rossomakhin was recruited into a Russian private military company (PMC) in exchange for freedom. He returned home from Ukraine in 2023 and, within days, killed an 85-year-old woman in a nearby town. One...

Workers who issue licenses and permits for the city of Dallas fought back in 2024 when officials moved them into a building that failed to meet the very same safety requirements they enforce at dozens of other office towers. ...

While there are rare (and very cute) exceptions, cats and birds do not get along. Cats are predatory by nature; their hunting instinct never goes away. Birds are one of their primary targets—and the fatality statistics are staggering. “There are now over 100 million...

Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen rapid growth, transforming industries and daily life. From chatbots to advanced generative models, AI’s capabilities continue to expand, driven by powerful companies investing heavily in research and development. “The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the...

Although there is no evidence that the European bison (Bison bonasus), known as wisent, ever roamed the islands of the United Kingdom, its genetic heritage suggests that it is attuned to the environment. The European bison is a hybrid that descends from the

An analysis of data from 2017 and 2022 by the Pew Charitable Trusts points to a direct connection between high housing costs and homelessness rates in the United States. Unsurprisingly, a Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury 2024 report stated that the city,...