May/Jun 2012

Robin Rosenberg delves into the inner psyches of superheroes—and the people who dress like them.

Why saving city budgets by moving to a 401(k) plan can only mean one thing.

Astrophysicist Andrea Ghez on black holes and the center of our galaxy.

What the fading of traditional marriage tells us about our growing class divide.

The scientific community disowned Professor Peter Duesberg for denying that HIV causes AIDS. But is there something to his new theory on cancer?

From plastic-eating mushrooms to the aerodynamics of hockey gloves, a roundup of unexpected findings from the study of marine trash.

Dr. Jay Shubrook is flipping conventional insulin treatment upside-down—with startling results.

The nations that ring the Pacific have half the world's consumers, half the world’s trade, and half the global GDP. No wonder the administration is quietly shifting its policies westward.

How a 1920s law meant to protect investors was manipulated to protect big banks and investment firms—until now.

Travel writer Paul Theroux on why his latest book, "The Lower River", looks at the damage done by nongovernmental organizations in Africa.

Is an unassuming group of Chinese bloggers who are obsessed with military hardware doing the Pentagon’s work? Or Beijing’s?

Forty years ago, Americans’ moral qualms almost ended the death penalty. Now we’re abandoning it again — but not because we object to executions.

Thomas Kinkade, the best-selling “Painter of Light,” has never enjoyed the academic scrutiny accorded other homespun artists — until now.

Who needs pipelines when massive hydro-cannons could blast water across California’s deserts?