In this excerpt from “Playful,” Cas Holman surveys the research that brought the neuroscience of play into the mainstream.

In this excerpt from “One Hand Clapping,” Nikolay Kukushkin makes the case that neurons reveal how memory, meaning, and even consciousness emerge from the same biological roots in humans, sea slugs, and beyond.

In this excerpt from “Lucky By Design,” Judd Kessler explains how opportunity costs shape our choices and why time is the real price we pay.

A preview of the latest novel by the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author.

In “We the People,” Harvard historian Jill Lepore examines how the U.S. Constitution became unamendable and its implications for the health of the democracy.

In this excerpt from “The Art of Spending Money,” Morgan Housel lays out the spending and financial habits guaranteed to end in regret.

In this excerpt from “Governing Babel,” John Wihbey explores how AI is reshaping online moderation by offering tools that can help human moderators, but also raises the risk of disinformation and digital chaos.

In this excerpt from “America’s Most Gothic,” Leanna Hieber and Andrea Janes examine the history and folklore of Maine’s vanished schooner.

In this excerpt from “The Formula for Better Health,” Tom Frieden explores how Alice Hamilton transformed public health in her fight against lead poisoning.

In this excerpt from “Seven Rivers,” historian Vanessa Taylor explores how Ancient Egyptian pharaohs harnessed the Nile River to build empires and secure their power.

In this excerpt from “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…,” Steven Pinker examines how crying may have evolved as part of a suite of emotional expressions aimed at strengthening social bonds.

Neuroscientist Rachel Barr shares her favorite books on the brain and how they shaped her approach to the field.

In “On Liberalism,” Cass Sunstein argues that liberalism can only endure if we reclaim its core commitments and revive its spirit of freedom and hope for the future.

In this excerpt from “Facing Infinity,” Jonas Enander examines how John Michell conceived of “dark stars,” or massive bodies with enough gravity to trap light, all the way back in 1783.

In “That Book Is Dangerous,” author Adam Szetela examines the rise of the “Sensitivity Era” in publishing and how outrage campaigns try to control what books authors can write and readers can read.

In this excerpt from “The Story of CO2,” Peter Brennan explains how changes in the Earth’s ecosystem led to fire, which in turn led our ancestors to become the “fire apes.”

In this excerpt from “Tales of Militant Chemistry,” Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.

In “The Secret History of Denisovans,” Silvana Condemi and François Savatier trace the story of our mysterious hominin ancestor.

In the Embers series, historian M.G. Sheftall shares the stories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s last survivors and reveals why their testimony must endure.

These expert-recommended books try to answer the questions of consciousness, from its fundamental nature to its role in human experience and the natural world.

Nuclear chemist Tim Gregory joins Big Think to make the case that nuclear energy can still transform the world for the better.

These short books offer insights and meditations on timeless themes, without the time commitment.

Historians Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst reexamine the pivotal conflict from a grassroots perspective.

The psychologist, educator, and former NBA player discusses the professional volumes and childhood stories that shaped his life and his approach to it.

Some books are remembered for their lyrical prose or engaging stories. Others are remembered for simply being weird.

In “The Headache,” Tom Zeller Jr. explores one of the human brain’s most enduring, and painful, enigmas.

Before becoming America’s most infamous assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a magnetic actor who was beloved by audiences and courted by critics.

In “Dinner with King Tut,” Sam Kean examines how a burgeoning field is recreating ancient tasks to uncover historical truths.

In “After the Spike,” Dean Spears and Michael Geruso show why policy, rather than high population density, has the most significant impact on the environment.

In “Human History on Drugs,” Sam Kelly explores what the research can tell us about one of history’s most brilliant — and troubled — artists.