Stories by David M. Ewalt

David M. Ewalt is editor in chief of Scientific American. Previously he served as an editor at the Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, Reuters and Forbes Magazine. He is author of the books Defying Reality: The Inside Story of the Virtual Reality Revolution and Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It.

Cover of the May 2026 issue of Scientific American, featuring an illustration of a heart on fire, against a brown background.

CultureApril 14, 2026

Unlikely paths to discovery

Sometimes innovation can be traced back to bizarre places: a muddy streambed, a volcanic ash field or even a hotel-company boardroom

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the April 2026 issue of Scientific American against a blue background

CultureMarch 17, 2026

Universe in chaos, Earth’s kids oddly fine!

Lurid headlines don’t give American children enough credit

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the March 2026 issue of Scientific American against a blue background

CultureFebruary 17, 2026

The ghost in the machine

AI is forcing us to redraw the line between author and tool

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the February 2026 issue of Scientific American against a teal background

CultureJanuary 20, 2026

A bright light in the dark

The Nobel Prizes remind us how science can unite society and inspire hope for the future

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the January 2026 issue of Scientific American against a blue background

CultureDecember 16, 2025

Meet Your Plastic Pal

A new generation of household robots could change the way you live

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the December 2025 issue of Scientific American against a brown background

CultureNovember 18, 2025

Science Bleeds When It’s Cut

As funding dries up, researchers face setbacks that threaten innovation and public progress

David M. Ewalt

Illustration of a UFO flying toward a flight of stairs against a pink sky

InternetNovember 17, 2025

The unlikely story of an e-mail time machine

Twenty years ago Forbes.com sent hundreds of thousands of messages to the future. Here’s what happened next

David M. Ewalt

An illustration of an email icon in a pixelated style on a white background.

InternetNovember 17, 2025

The human network behind a digital time capsule

Scientific American’s editor in chief David M. Ewalt reflects on a 20-year experiment in e-mailing the future

Kendra Pierre-Louis, David M. Ewalt, Jeffery DelViscio, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

James Watson sitting at a desk on the left, seen from the chest up, his ams folded on the desk. Next to him is a model of a DNA double helix

GeneticsNovember 7, 2025

James Watson, Who Helped Discover the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at Age 97

James Watson’s work on the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA led to a revolution in biology and genetics

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the November 2025 issue of Scientific American against a dark grey background

CultureOctober 14, 2025

Being Wrong Is a Scientific Superpower

Snake oil, smuggling and a fundamental change in the way we understand life

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the October 2025 issue of Scientific American against a gray background

CultureSeptember 16, 2025

The Problem with Billionaire Science

Science may need to increasingly rely on wealthy patrons, but privately funded projects don’t always pan out

David M. Ewalt

Cover of the September 2025 issue of Scientific American against a gray backgroud

CultureAugust 19, 2025

180 Years of Standing Up for Science

Our anniversary celebration begins with an outstanding collection of stories about times that science itself has made a full about-face

David M. Ewalt

AstronomyJuly 29, 2025

Twin Meteor Showers Light Up the Night Sky Tonight: Here’s How to Watch

The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are due to peak at the same time and may add up to something magical

David M. Ewalt