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Alex Chalmers and Rob Wiblin on why recycling is overrated Saloni Dattani on how much faster medicine could progress Sophie Fessl on breeding the perfect racehorse Koji Flynn-Do and Martin Gould on farm animal welfare Derek Hopper on how Siam avoided conquest Samuel Hughes on beauty and building Robert Kwolek on architectural taste Niko McCarty on the microbes we can't use Kevin Simler on how advertising really works Jacob Witten on switching off proteins

King of fruits

Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but centuries of innovation made them commonplace.

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Fertility on demand

Many women face a choice between career advancement or motherhood. But emerging fertility technologies could allow women to have it all.

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The rise and fall of the Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League united merchants to bargain with kings, blockade cities, and even win wars. But when technology changed, defections began and the coalition fell apart.

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The prehistoric psychopath

Life in the state of nature was less violent than you might think. Most of our ancestors avoided conflict. But this made them vulnerable to a few psychopaths.

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The failure of the land value tax

Land value taxes are once again becoming a popular all-purpose solution to housing issues. But implementing them in early 1900s Britain destroyed the then-dominant Liberal Party.

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Chinese towers and American blocks

China builds towers in a park, while America,