Consciousness is the simple word for the complex processes of how we experience our world. Each of us has a vivid inner life that accompanies the firing of neurons in our brain. Yet the nature of consciousness remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. How does the soggy, electric tissue of the brain produce…
In the mid-20th century, psychedelic substances like LSD and psilocybin mushrooms went from scientific curiosities to symbols of the counterculture. In the 1950s and 60s, researchers explored LSD’s potential to treat mental illness, and some psychiatrists reported promising results. But by the late 1960s, these hallucinogens escaped the lab and exploded into popular use, sparking…
A man sits in a dimly lit room, eyes closed, as wisps of smoke from a crystal pipe curl around him. He has just inhaled a potent dose of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelic substances known. Within seconds, his perception of reality begins to dissolve. The walls and ceiling explode into intricate kaleidoscopic…
Picture Earth not as a rock with life scattered across its surface, but as a single, self-regulating organism. Its oceans act as blood, circulating nutrients. Its forests are lungs, exhaling oxygen and drawing in carbon. Its atmosphere is a thin skin, holding in warmth and filtering cosmic rays. This was the vision crystallized in the…
Travis Walton on an ordinary November night stood at the edge of an Arizona forest, under an inky black sky studded with stars. With the crunch of gravel under their truck’s tires and lantern light reflecting off pine needles, the six members of his logging crew watched in a mix of awe and dread. In…
In the arid plains of the Indus Valley, nearly five millennia ago, a Bronze Age civilization built cities with straight streets, brick houses, and baths that rival modern pools. This ancient society – often referred to as the Harappan or Indus Valley Civilization – was remarkably advanced for its time. Yet in recent years, it…
Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films have transcended cultural boundaries to captivate audiences around the world. Often called Japan’s answer to Walt Disney, Miyazaki has created rich fantasy worlds steeped in Japanese folklore and mythology that nonetheless feel universally accessible. Children and adults from Los Angeles to London find themselves enchanted by forest spirits, witch’s charms, and…
Every year, monsoon rains drench the plains of Cambodia. Rivers swell and burst their banks, turning fields into temporary lakes. To most ancient cities, such seasonal flooding would be a curse, a destructive force washing away homes and crops. Yet at Angkor Wat, the deluge was not an enemy to be feared but a heartbeat…
Despite living in an age of scientific marvels and secular philosophies, humanity’s fascination with gods and the divine has not vanished – it has merely shape-shifted. We continue to invent new gods, even as we reinterpret the old ones to find a place for them in our modern lives. This enduring phenomenon raises a compelling…
Let’s imagine we’re at the mouth of a dimly lit cave in prehistoric Siberia, a hunter threads a bear’s tooth on a sinew cord and hangs it around his neck. He believes this fierce creature’s tooth carries some of the animal’s strength, guarding him against harm. Across the world and millennia apart, a mother in…
