A Breakdown of Beavers
Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb talks about his book Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.
Stories by Steve Mirsky
Acknowledging Reality Is an Excellent Way to Function within It
Castles in the air are not for habitation
Inventing Us: How Inventions Shaped Humanity
Materials scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez talks about her latest book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.
We Sometimes Missed the Boat—and Bridge
Einstein wrote for this publication, as did some non-Einsteins
Election Science Stakes: Technology
We wrap up our preelection series with Scientific American senior editor Jen Schwartz, who talks about the possible effects of the election results on technology development and use.&..
Election Science Stakes: Energy
Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti and associate editor Andrea Thompson talk about this election and the future of U.S. energy research and policy.
A Quick Look at Underpaid Female Docs, Unethical Ethicists and Frogs with Intestinal Fortitude
Consider a few items of interest from our epically awful summer
Election Science Stakes: Environment
Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti talks about how this election will affect environmental science and policy.
Election Science Stakes: Climate
Scientific American’s associate editor for sustainability Andrea Thompson talks about how climate science and policy will be affected by this election.
Election Science Stakes: Medicine and Public Health
Scientific American’s senior medicine editor Josh Fischman talks about issues in medicine and public health that will be affected by this election.
Election 2020: The Stakes for Science
Scientific American’s editor in chief sets up this week’s series of podcasts about how this election could affect science, technology and medicine.
Nobelist Talks CRISPR Uses
New Nobel laureate in chemistry Jennifer Doudna talks about various applications of the gene-editing tool CRISPR.
New Nobel Laureate Talks Today’s Virology
Charles Rice, who today shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, talked about how rapidly research now occurs, compared with his early work...
Our Health Depends on Our Homes and Work Spaces
A new book looks at the science of how our buildings affect our bodies and minds
175 Years of Scientific American: The Good, the Bad and the Debunking
We look back at some highlights, midlights and lowlights of the history of Scientific American, featuring former editor in chief John Rennie. Astrophysicist Alan Guth also appears in a sponsored segment...
Bread Science: A Yeasty Conversation
“Baking is applied microbiology,” according to the book Modernist Bread . During pandemic lockdowns, many people started baking their own bread. Scientific American contributing editor W...
The Coming or Possibly Nearly Here Storm
Former Scientific American editor Mark Alpert talks about his latest sci-fi thriller The Coming Storm, which warns about the consequences of unethical scientific research and of ignoring the scientific findings you don’t like...
Our Temporary Moratorium against Handshakes Should Become Permanent
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in an overdue development
COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics: Who Gets It First and Other Issues
Contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs spoke with Arthur Caplan, head of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s division of medical ethics, about some of the ethical issues that researchers have to consider in testing and distributing vaccines against COVID-19...
How Your Homes and Buildings Affect You
Journalist and author Emily Anthes talks about her book The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness.
