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I Told You So!

When the Renaissance scientist Galileo defended the heliocentric model of the Universe, he was condemned by the Catholic Church. Modern scientists, however, frequently face their fiercest opposition not from religious authorities but from within their own ranks. In his new book, I Told You So!, Matt Kaplan—a...

The Feather Detective

On 4 October 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 took off from Logan International Airport on a clear fall evening and plunged almost immediately into the icy waters of Boston Harbor, killing all but ten of the seventy-two people on board. It remains the deadliest...

The Secret History of The Rape Kit

Pagan Kennedy, author of Inventology, the 2016 book on inventions that bring about social change, and the people behind them, became fascinated by what she describes as a “a piece of technology designed to hold men accountable for brutalizing women.” So, who invented the standardized...

Elements of Marie Curie

If there is a book reading/discussion by Dava Sobel at a bookstore near you -- you should absolutely go. Dava is such a charming, intelligent and articulate person, chances are, you will immediately decide to read anything/everything she has ever written. Her beat is historical...

Just Keep Swimming

When a senior male scientist claimed the data from sawfish she’d tagged, Jasmin Graham –an early career shark researcher in Florida– felt powerless. It was not one individual’s behavior but the failure of the larger scientific community to take appropriate action was frustrating. Dejected, Graham...

The Future of Language

After linguist Philip Seargeant’s grandmother suffered a stroke, her thoughts remained trapped in her body. Although she had no cognitive damage, her paralyzed muscles didn’t allow her to speak or write. To communicate, she would point to letters printed on one side of a tattered...