Slate

They’re the Most Annoying Creatures on the Planet. You Don’t Know What They’re Going to Unleash on America.

They can do a lot more than ruin your summer day.

My Brother Woke Up in the Hospital With a Strange Story. It Was Even Stranger When It Turned Out to Be True.

My brother’s “breakdown” turned out to be something far more sinister.

There’s No Such Thing as an Eternal Sunshine Drug. What We Do Have Is Propranolol.

Pop a few pills, do a little therapy, and it might all go away.

Soapbox

One of America’s Great Traditions Is Dying. I’ll Never Let It. Not Now That I Have Proof I Was Right All Along.

The World Thinks Americans Only Eat Pizza-Nugget-Burgers. The Truth Is a Much More Interesting Story.

Is the KFC Double Down really what the Founding Fathers wanted for us?

Footloose

They’re Ugly, Unproven, the Stuff of Hippies, Tech Bros, and Runners. Do They Actually Work? After years of mockery and controversy, barefoot shoes are hotter than ever. Will our bodies thank us for it?

They’re Giant. They’re Cuddly

Popularity isn't always a good thing.

Dr. Gift

In 1995 a Woman Received a Phone Call That Stunned Her—and Ignited a Scandal That Haunted America for Years

Two Generations Ago, It Wasn’t So Weird to Be Naked in Front of Other People. Now Everyone Hates It. I Went to the Only Place to Find Out Why.

At Glen Eden Sun Club, nudism is alive and well. It’s also one of the last places in the world where that’s true.

Jeffrey Epstein Misunderstood How Genes Work. The Reason Why Is Kind of Dark.

He believed in creating “better” humans.

Dave & Buster’s Is Fighting to Survive. Its Hail Mary Idea Could Be a Lifesaver. It Might Also Change the Brand Forever.

In the face of a financial quagmire, why not throw up a few glow sticks?

America Is Plagued by Shoplifting. I Went to the Headquarters of the War on “Shrink.” I Couldn’t Believe What I Saw.

At the headquarters of the war on “shrink,” I saw too much.

In 1990, a Man Saw Something He Didn’t Like in His Neighborhood. His Response Changed History—but It’s Been All but Forgotten.

“Mandrake the Magician” fought crime—just not the usual kind.

Peter Thiel Just Accidentally Made a Chilling Admission. Five Decades Ago, One Man Saw It Coming.

He was laughed out of academia for this take about the internet. Turns out he was right.

Beer Is Officially on the Decline in America. No One Saw the Real Culprit Coming.

The war on suds has multiple fronts—but they all come from the same place.

The Horrible Truth About Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases

Junk science has put people on death row.

A Bizarre 1970 Arctic Killing Offers a Road Map for How Not to Deal With Murder in Space

Murder will happen in outer space. This 50-year-old death on a now-melted chunk of ice shows how complicated it will get.

The True Story of Phineas Gage Is Much More Fascinating Than the Mythical Textbook Accounts

On Sept. 13, 1848, at around 4:30 p.m., the time of day when the mind might start wandering, a railroad foreman named Phineas Gage filled a drill hole...

The Real Story of Linda Taylor, America’s Original Welfare Queen

In the 1970s, Ronald Reagan villainized a Chicago woman for bilking the government. Her other sins—including possible kidnappings and murders—were far worse.

The Perfection of the Paper Clip

The paper clip is something of a fetish object in design circles. Its spare, machined aesthetic and its inexpensive ubiquity landed it a spot in MoMA’s...