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The Dictator's Voodoo Priests and the Forgotten Attack on the White House
In 1994, America nearly went to war because voodoo priests interpreted a failed attack on the White House as an auspicious sign. It's a true story of…
Oct 31
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Brian Klaas
33
7
Brain Food
Ancient boats, obliterating viruses and cleaning air with UV light, a magic ant that gives birth to two species, Fukuyama redux, the next big volcano…
Oct 23
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Brian Klaas
76
15
Is social media just...boring now?
Social media is destroying democracy and accelerating idiocracy. But it's also just...really, really boring.
Oct 17
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Brian Klaas
303
41
The yogurt kingpin, the radio DJ coup, and the most interesting island on Earth
Madagascar is a fascinating island home to 30+ million people. It's also home to bizarre, volatile politics that virtually nobody knows about. And the…
Oct 14
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Brian Klaas
165
8
Should we just give cash to the homeless?
A new charity is tackling homelessness with a simple approach. Does it work?
Oct 9
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Brian Klaas
193
33
We are different from all other humans in history
Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.
Oct 6
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Brian Klaas
446
33
September 2025
In Defense of Dan Brown
Brown's new book doesn't offer award-winning literary prose. But intellectual snobbery and review elitism is foolish in an era of growing cultural…
Sep 26
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Brian Klaas
229
37
Democracy in the Crosshairs
Political violence is surging in the United States. Here's how to understand it.
Sep 19
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Brian Klaas
105
24
Drunken Apes and the Rise of Civilization
New research reveals the primate origins of alcohol consumption—and how a single boozy mutation may have helped give rise to social complexity and…
Sep 10
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Brian Klaas
191
16
Guns at Annunciation
I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the…
Sep 2
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Brian Klaas
293
32
August 2025
The Grifted Age
Move over Gilded Age. In the 21st century, hucksters and swindlers are exploiting mass stupidity and conspiratorial thinking—and getting filthy rich in…
Aug 29
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Brian Klaas
158
42
Blood Diamonds and the Lottery of Earth
How geography and geology shapes our destinies.
Aug 25
•
Brian Klaas
144
10
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