Ensaios e Biografias

“YOU KNOW WHY THIS BEATS THE REAL WORLD?” ED HARRIS asks a man he’s about to shoot. “The real world is chaos. It’s an accident. But in here, every detail adds up to something.” Playing a marauding visitor to a futuristic theme park, Harris perfectly summarizes the appeal of Westworld, a tourist attraction for wealthy folks who want to role-play the days of Wild Bill Hickok

There's evidence that power actually changes the way the brain sees others, decreasing recognition of others' concerns.

Racism should be a core concern for all Americans, in every area of our lives. Implicit bias—our subconscious associations of race—permeates everything that we do. And we must pursue systemic accountability to fix it. The next President must apply the lens of race to all core issues, including health care, immigration, jobs, criminal justice, climate change and education,

We asked readers: How do you make the most of everyone's least favorite work routine? Here's what they had to say. 1. Plan ahead. Set the agenda one week ahead of time. Allow employees to comment on it prior to the meeting so they have time to really

The prescription-opioid epidemic is one of the most urgent public-health challenges of our time. Since 1999, overdose deaths have quadrupled, which parallels the quantity of opioids prescribed. The majority of prescription opioids that are being misused are coming not from people buying them off the street but from legally written prescriptions. In 2012, enough prescriptio

IN OUR RELENTLESS QUEST TO LIVE healthier, happier, more productive lives, we often overlook a powerful tool within us: our internal sense of timing. The human body is genetically designed to coordinate the “when” of almost all aspects of life—sleep, work, sex, even having fun. And we’re all wired differently. People with certain lengths of PER3 genes prefer morning activi

IF YOU PUT PEOPLE IN BRAIN SCANNERS and give them something delicious—say, wine or chocolate—the reward centers of their brains light up. In other words, it’s making them feel good. But if you promise them a delicious item in the future, there’s no reward-center activity. If it’s not in our hands (or mouths), we don’t care. Money is the rare exception to this rule, and st

LIBERALS TEND TO THINK OF THEMSELVES as open-minded and supportive of free speech. But recent examples show otherwise—and prove that many on the left are not above using intimidation and harassment to silence dissenting voices. Consider the fight against California’s Prop 8. In an attempt to stymie the 2008 amendment, which aimed to preserve traditional marriage, some act

Highlights from 12 months of interviews with writers about their craft and the authors they love

ACCORDING TO ESTIMATES FROM FEDERAL agencies, there are tens of thousands of prisoners in solitary confinement—put there not by judges or juries but at the discretion of prison administrators. Often the conditions are extreme: one California prisoner, Todd Ashker, spent more than 20 years in a cell the size of a wheelchair-accessible bathroom stall, with the lights on 24 h

American teens are anxious, depressed and overwhelmed. Experts are struggling over how to help them

The OA, Westworld, Stranger Things, and other recent works toy with the idea of multiple realities—and bring the thrill of new religion.

After exploring a virtual world, some people can’t shake the sense that the actual world isn’t real, either.

Assad and his Syrian regime are just a figurehead; the real victory belongs to the resurgent Party of God.

Every four years, a group of U.S. intelligence analysts tries to predict the future. And this year, in a report released just weeks before Donald Trump assumes the presidency, those analysts forecast a massive shift in international affairs over the