NEUROWIRE

Culture & Ideas

Updated Jul 29, 2026 · 29 entries
The Atlantic · Jul 29, 2026

Why Kids Can’t Quit Roblox

The mechanics of many games on the platform are nearly identical to those of slot machines and sports-betting apps.

Everything · Jul 29, 2026

The Best Books of 2026 So Far

Our editors and critics review notable new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Books / Under ReviewBooks
The Atlantic · Jul 28, 2026

The Horrible Rise of the Makeout Police

A year after the Coldplay incident, another couple is going viral for PDA.

The Atlantic · Jul 29, 2026

Rural America’s Maternal-Health Crisis Is About to Get Much Worse

Care will be in shorter supply, travel distances will stretch farther, and high-risk situations will more likely result in tragedy.

The Atlantic · Jul 29, 2026

Independence Day

A poem

The Atlantic · Jul 29, 2026

The Great Chinese Oil Mystery

America’s greatest rival is single-handedly averting a global energy crisis. No one knows how the country is doing it—or why.

The Atlantic · Jul 29, 2026

The American Commentator Making Excuses for Iran

Max Blumenthal fits into a long, disreputable tradition.

Everything · Jul 29, 2026

Three Books Sheila Heti Recommends

The author of “Motherhood” answers our questions about her reading habits.

Books / What We’re Reading
Aeon | a world of ideas · Jul 29, 2026

How to spot pseudoscience

We are living in a golden age of pseudoscience. Here are three helpful tools for separating science from its imitator - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Everything · Jul 29, 2026

Dear Pepper: How to Have Some of It All?

Liana Finck writes a humorous advice column about the choices a couple faces after having their first born.

Humor / Shouts & Murmurs
Everything · Jul 29, 2026

The Department of Labored Content

Trump’s Cabinet has joined TikTok, but the White House is about to learn that controlling the platform isn’t the same as being good at it.

Culture / Infinite Scroll
Everything · Jul 29, 2026

Fairfield Porter’s Lush, Lonely Vision of the World

The painter was rich and cloistered, and used color like few others before or after him.

Magazine / The Art World
Open Culture · Jul 29, 2026

How a 13th-Century Monk Created a Prayer Manuscript by Writing Over—and Accidentally Preserving—Archimedes’ Groundbreaking Mathematical Works

In Jerusalem of the year 1229, there lived a Greek Orthodox monk named Johannes Myronas. Needing some parchment for a prayer book, he grabbed some already-used pages, erased their existing content, and over them wrote down “prayers for the dead, prayers for repentance, blessings for the loaves at Easter, and even a prayer for those […]

HistoryMath
Open Culture · Jul 29, 2026

Hear What Homer’s Odyssey Sounded Like When Sung in the Original Ancient Greek

Image via Wikimedia Commons It’s been a humanist truism for some time to say that Shakespeare speaks to every age, transcending his time and place through the sheer force of his universal genius. But any honest student first encountering the plays will tell you differently, as will many a seasoned scholar who works hard to […]

HistoryLiteratureMusic
The Atlantic · Jul 28, 2026

Trump Crashes Into Reality

The president is learning that limits to his power—and, soon, his relevancy—do exist.

The Marginalian · Jul 29, 2026

Kindness Over Fear: Naomi Shihab Nye Tells the Remarkable Real-Life Story That Inspired Her Beloved Poem “Kindness”

"Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, / you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing."

culturebooksNaomi Shihab NyeOn Beingpoetry
The Atlantic · Jul 28, 2026

Lindsey Graham’s Last Laugh

The senator’s funeral featured foreign dignitaries, security lines, and a eulogy from the president whose approval he never stopped seeking.

Vox · Jul 29, 2026

We’re running out of ways to get oil out of the Middle East

There was a backup plan for getting oil out of the Middle East. We may need another one.  On July 20, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel movement known as the Houthis declared a “blockade” against their long-time enemy Saudi Arabia, and a short time later attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Shortly afterward, […]

ClimateDefense & SecurityEnergyIranPolitics
Nautilus · Jul 28, 2026

Anthony Fauci’s Diary Reveals a Human at the Helm

Recently published notes from the former COVID czar paint a picture of a scientist grappling with a dynamic situation The post Anthony Fauci’s Diary Reveals a Human at the Helm appeared first on Nautilus .

Health
Vox · Jul 29, 2026

Costco’s organic chicken isn’t what it seems

Organic chicken costs on average more than twice as much as conventional chicken, and people buy it in part because they believe that the animals are given a much better life.  If you’re one of those people, maybe you envision a small farm where flocks of healthy birds split their time between green pastures and […]

Animal WelfareCultureFoodFuture Perfect
Everything · Jul 28, 2026

The Sunlit Joylessness of Netflix’s “Little House on the Prairie”

The new adaptation, though visually exquisite, swaps the story’s much-loved comfort for dutiful tedium.

Culture / On Television
The Atlantic · Jul 28, 2026

The Trump Administration Tells the Truth

A government lawyer admitted in a court filing that the administration withheld grants based on whom states had voted for.

Nautilus · Jul 28, 2026

Pre-Roman Necropolis Reveals Secrets of Iron Age Mediterranean Diets

Spoiler alert: The men ate more meat The post Pre-Roman Necropolis Reveals Secrets of Iron Age Mediterranean Diets appeared first on Nautilus .

Anthropology
Vox · Jul 28, 2026

The Trump asylum change that could fast-track deportations

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is further limiting due process for asylum-seekers in the US. What’s happening? On Tuesday, the administration issued a rule changing how some […]

Donald TrumpImmigrationPolicyPoliticsThe Logoff
Vox · Jul 28, 2026

Why Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average

This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. An underappreciated surreality of climate change is the incredible sense of déjà vu: Every heat wave seems to be the new worst; every hurricane season seems to break records.  The wildfires sweeping France and […]

Today, Explained newsletter
Everything · Jul 28, 2026

Charli XCX and the Strokes Are (Sort of) Making Rock Music

Both artists have released new albums—“Music, Fashion, Film” and “Reality Awaits”—that seesaw between raw sincerity and punkish insouciance.

Culture / Pop Music
The Atlantic · Jul 28, 2026

The Worst Way to Regulate AI

Abdicating power over the technology to this or any White House would be a mistake.

Nautilus · Jul 28, 2026

Omniscient Tree Networks and Immortal Amoebas: 9 Books We’re Excited to Read This August

The Nautilus monthly reading list The post Omniscient Tree Networks and Immortal Amoebas: 9 Books We’re Excited to Read This August appeared first on Nautilus .

ArtsReading Lists
Nautilus · Jul 28, 2026

The Humble Amoeba Is Smarter Than You Think

A conversation with Nicholas Money, mycologist and author of A is for Amoeba The post The Humble Amoeba Is Smarter Than You Think appeared first on Nautilus .

Microbiology