Stories by Brianne Kane

Historian Craig Fehrman unpacks the science, politics and human stories behind one of America’s most famous expeditions

David Haskell brings readers through millions of years of botanical history for his latest book, How Flowers Made Our World

SciAm books editor Bri Kane shares her favorite science books for every summer mood

From ecohorror to science-inspired poetry, discover the books Scientific American staffers are recommending this summer

Actor Tom Hiddleston reflects on the first time he visited Pompeii as a teenager and explains why the ancient city’s preserved tragedy continues to shape his understanding of history and humanity

Developing artificial-intelligence systems to enhance digital art creation

The 24 alien books the Scientific American staff love, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Contact and beyond

A linguist lays out what communicating with aliens could actually involve—and what that tells us about human language

Fill your bingo card with fascinating science stories, discoveries and ideas all summer long for a chance to win prizes

A new look at how everything from handwriting to AI quietly reshapes our bodies, habits and sense of connection

A physicist explores how poetry, pop culture and imagination help us understand spacetime and our place in the universe

Author Rachel Zoffness breaks down why we have chronic pain and how science shows that it’s all in our head

Alexis Hall reimagines Melville’s classic with space whales, AI intrigue and a bold queer twist that launches Moby-Dick into an entirely new sci‑fi universe

The author of the novel Project Hail Mary breaks down aliens, anxiety and the process of bringing his story to the screen

Project Hail Mary directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord talk about astrobiology, optimistic science fiction, heist films and handsome scientists

How do scientists actually study beavers? How do beavers build dams? And what is “beaver butt juice”?

Ryan Gosling plays a science teacher turned (reluctant) astronaut in the upcoming film adaptation of Project Hail Mary, a science fiction novel by author Andy Weir

Michael Pollan dives into the scientific and philosophical puzzles of consciousness, from brain biology to AI and beyond

Scientific American’s staff recommends eight books that are as full of science as they are of love

From an interview with author Mary Roach to a chat with cardiologist Eric Topol, here are 12 of the most eye-opening conversations we had this year

Journalist Karen Hao unpacks the rise of AI “empires,” their ideological roots, and the hidden environmental and societal costs of OpenAI’s quest for artificial general intelligence.

On our Best Fiction of 2025 list, Emma Pattee imagines Portland’s worst Earthquake in her debut novel Tilt

On our 2025 Best Nonfiction of the Year list, Karen Hao’s investigation of artificial intelligence reveals how the AI future is still in our hands

Hole in the Sky, by Daniel H. Wilson, is one of Scientific American’s best fiction picks of 2025. In the novel, aliens talk through an AI headset and land in the Cherokee Nation, while the military scrambles to contain and control the unknown