Does a distant alien world harbor promising signs of life? Most astrobiologists say no

Denis Johnson's life was a mess. His prose, somehow, was immaculate. How to explain the distance between life and art?

Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life

"AIs like talking about sweetness, loudness, quiet, age and beauty. There is a lot of insisting," says Malin Hay, " as well as a lot of promising"

The Three Elements of the Good Life

Tadpoles Use a World War I Naval Strategy to Dazzle Predators

To anyone in love with the precious, fleeting things of this world, resistance to disappearance seems only natural and proper. And yet

Why Reading Is Now Restless

Cutting Tariffs on Farm Equipment Is Another Admission That Trump's Trade Policies Are Increasing Prices

The Pope and the AI Profiteers

Open Thread

The Donkey and the Meaning of Eternity: Nobel-Winning Spanish Poet Juan Ramón Jiménez’s Love Letter to Life

How AIs See Our World

Not simply trivia, not simply a hobby — for the believer, quiz verges on a way of life

The Revolutionary Life of George Forster

Indiana Police Misplace More Than $30,000 Seized in Massage Parlor Raids

Spiraling Out of Control

Trump’s Border Win

Today in Supreme Court History: May 30, 1865

L.A. Can’t Fix Its Mansion Tax Mistake

A Nietzschean Reading of the Hokey Pokey