Photograph by Siqi Li for The AtlanticWhy We Still Use Postage StampsThe enduring necessity (and importance) of a nearly 200-year-old technologyAndrea ValdezApril 28, 2024
Illustration by The AtlanticYour Phone Has Nothing on AM RadioWhy Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders are teaming up to save the century-old technologyJacob SternFebruary 21, 2024
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.A Fake Yellow Line Changed Football ForeverYou’ve been watching the Super Bowl in mixed reality for 25 years.Jacob SternFebruary 8, 2024
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe PaniThe Barcode Engineered Its Own DownfallFor decades, the tiny symbol has been the plumbing of global capitalism. It might finally be replaced.Saahil DesaiJanuary 11, 2024
Bettmann / GettyWhen Did Humans First Start Wearing Clothes?No one can know exactly, but archaeologists have found a few unexpected clues.Sarah ZhangJanuary 2, 2024
Illustration by Joanne Imperio / The AtlanticScience Is Becoming Less HumanAI is accelerating the pace of discovery—but at what cost?Matteo WongDecember 11, 2023
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Hannah Kirshner.The Simple, Ancient Idea That Can Replace Concrete WallsThe energy intensity of concrete is an intractable climate problem. What about using stone instead?Hannah KirshnerDecember 6, 2023
Warner Bros / EverettHow We Turned the Tide in the Roach WarsForty years ago, scientists did the impossible. Why doesn’t anyone remember?Daniel EngberNovember 30, 2023
Valentine Vermeil / REA / ReduxAmerica Is Getting Lonelier and More Indoorsy. That’s Not a Coincidence.Our relationship to nature and our relationships with one another are deeply intertwined.Hannah SeoNovember 13, 2023
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty; Jason Miller / Getty; Jonathan Daniel / Getty; Rick Stewart / Getty.The Science Behind Basketball’s Biggest DebatePlaying in the NBA really is harder now.Ross AndersenOctober 27, 2023
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.M.F.A. vs. GPTHow to push the art of writing out of a computer’s reachXochitl GonzalezAugust 24, 2023
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.How Handwriting Lost Its PersonalityPenmanship was once considered a window to the soul. The digital age has closed it.Rachel Gutman-WeiJuly 11, 2023
Giona Bridler / Gallery StockThe Paradox at the Grocery StoreWhat people really need is less choice, not more.Adam Fleming PettyJune 24, 2023
Marcel Christ / Gallery StockGo Ahead, Try to Explain MilkNo one can define it, much less fully replicate it.Katherine J. WuJune 22, 2023
Aaron Graubart / Trunk ArchiveAmerican Food Will Never Look Natural AgainHealth concerns keep shrinking the roster of approved artificial dyes. But Americans still can’t seem to go cold turkey on ultra-colorful foods.Katherine J. WuMay 18, 2023
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Internet Archive.Too Many Americans Are Missing Out on the Best Kitchen GadgetThe rice cooker has been perfect since 1955.Matteo WongApril 21, 2023
Matt Chase / The AtlanticHow Please Stopped Being PoliteThe phrase if it please you has been shortened and shortened over time—until it’s become more brusque than courteous.Walker MimmsMarch 15, 2023
Getty; The AtlanticYou Don’t Know How Bad the Pizza Box IsThe delivery icon hasn’t changed in 60 years, and it’s making your food worse.Saahil DesaiJanuary 13, 2023
Getty / The AtlanticThe Dawn of Artificial ImaginationOpenAI says programs like DALL-E 2 will “democratize” art.Matteo WongDecember 14, 2022
Erik Carter / The Atlantic; GettyThe Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of ‘Boundaries’For centuries, strict social norms dictated what people could politely talk about. Now we have to figure it out for ourselves.Michael WatersNovember 2, 2022