From Haiti to Chile, China to California, earthquakes have dominated recent news. Is this a pattern or a fluke? And where might the next one hit?

How the “chaotic” process of plate tectonics works, and why scientists are getting better at predicting major shakeups.

No more pens wiggling across a piece of paper when an earthquake hits. These days, scientists are using “4-D seismology” to create a dynamic record of our volatile planet.

A conversation with the Columbia University seismologist.

Massimo Vignelli recalls his days as a “groupie” hanging out with the greatest architects of the 20th century.

Postmodernism was a passing fad, says the legendary designer. Modernism is “a discipline, not a style”—and is alive and well.

When you live in the shadow of the Vatican, “ambiguity becomes very natural” in life and art.

The celebrated designer discusses the history of typography, the popularity of the film “Helvetica,” and why there are only a dozen good fonts in the world.

The creator of iconic subway maps, city signage, and corporate logos loves seeing his work everywhere. So does his “twin brother,” his ego.

The legendary designer explains how to avoid fads, cheap tricks, and “vulgarities” of all kinds.

Massimo Vignelli divides his profession into two eras, B.C. and A.C.: Before Computer and After Computer.

In his apprentice days as a designer, Massimo Vignelli learned that versatility was the key to success.

An interview with the modernist designer and founder of Vignelli Associates.

What excites the world-renowned anthropologist about the future of his field?

As globalization continues and the spread of genes between disparate populations increases, our biological features are likely to become more homogeneous. Culture, meanwhile, will continue to evolve at an explosive […]

Living with the Masai people of Tanzania convinced Donald Johanson that art first emerged from bodily decoration—which in turn emerged from the earliest human bonding rituals.

Don Johanson believes we didn’t interbreed with our ancient rivals—we just outcompeted them.

The group of fossils Don Johanson found in 1975 marked a watershed in the study of human origins—and deserves to be revisited today.

It’s true: the world’s most famous skeleton really was named after a Beatles song. And once she was “Lucy,” she became more than just a scientific specimen.

The discoverer of the “Lucy” fossil explains her impact on science, and describes what she would look like walking down a New York City street.

Even with modern GPS, scientists must “look and look and look and look” for remains worth digging up.

A conversation with the paleoanthropologist and founding director of the Institute of Human Origins.

Raising the standards of your dairy consumption can be a “gateway” step toward a healthier, more natural diet.

The author admits she bends her own rules to eat out sometimes, and hasn’t eliminated white sugar from her household. But for the most part, the foods she craves most […]

Substitute foods and engineered imitations are never as good as “real foods.”

An omnivore’s diet is best for fertility, pregnancy, and nursing—and will help make sure your offspring are healthy.

The farmers’ market pioneer explains why she and her family drink unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk, and why the rewards outweigh the risks.

While industrial meat production is environmentally destructive and socially unjust, raising animals for meat on in grass pastures actually enhances the environment.

Even if they lacked the variety we enjoy in modern supermarkets, our forebears ate healthy food that was, by and large, whole and unadulterated.

Our ancestors had a much lower incidence of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Could it be because they ate traditional, “real” foods?