Short Stuff: Drop Bears

In The Sixth Extinction, journalist Elizabeth Kolbert argues that by drastically changing the shape of the earth and the composition of the atmosphere, humans have set in motion a sixth mass extinction that may one day be our undoing. The book revisits five previous mass extinction events spanning five hundred million years and compares them to the rapid, widespread extinctions underway today of a range of species including frogs, corals, birds, and rhinos.

These extinctions are a consequence of human-created global warming and ocean acidification, the destruction and fragmentation of forests, and our spread of invasive species around the world. What’s more, these actions will determine the course of life on the planet long after our species is gone.

What lies at the core of human nature? If you stripped away civilization, would we be fundamentally compassionate creatures? Or would we cheat, lie, and steal, with only self-interest in mind? In Humankind, historian Rutger Bregman suggests that most of us think of humans as naturally deceitful and cruel, seemingly with a lot of evidence to back us up: Throughout history, groups of humans have gone to war, committed genocide, and owned slaves.

But despite our history of evil, Bregman argues that humans are fundamentally good. In this guide, we’ll go into detail on why he thinks this, explaining his claim that humans evolved to be kind, not to kill. We’ll discuss his critique of Killer Ape Theory and the Stanford Prison Experiment, two pieces of evidence that often justify the idea that humans are inherently evil. We’ll also compare his view of human nature with those of other authors such as Philip Zimbardo (The Lucifer Effect) and Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow).

What lies at the core of human nature? If you stripped away civilization, would we be fundamentally compassionate creatures? Or would we cheat, lie, and steal, with only self-interest in mind? In Humankind, historian Rutger Bregman suggests that most of us think of humans as naturally deceitful and cruel, seemingly with a lot of evidence to back us up: Throughout history, groups of humans have gone to war, committed genocide, and owned slaves.

But despite our history of evil, Bregman argues that humans are fundamentally good. In this guide, we’ll go into detail on why he thinks this, explaining his claim that humans evolved to be kind, not to kill. We’ll discuss his critique of Killer Ape Theory and the Stanford Prison Experiment, two pieces of evidence that often justify the idea that humans are inherently evil. We’ll also compare his view of human nature with those of other authors such as Philip Zimbardo (The Lucifer Effect) and Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow).

Though we don’t like to think about it, we’re all going to get old. But in Ageless, physicist-turned-biologist Andrew Steele contends that aging isn’t as inevitable as it seems. Steele argues that we can treat—and even cure—aging. He explains that scientists are on the cusp of discovering anti-aging therapies and treatments that could lengthen the human lifespan and enable us to live many more years in good health, thus ensuring our health is no longer dependent on our chronological age.

In this guide, we’ll examine Steele’s explanations of the processes that make us grow sicker and slower as we age, the treatments you can expect to see in the future, and the scientifically proven steps you can take right now to slow your own aging process. We’ll also put Steele’s ideas into the context of the latest research in the field, and we’ll compare his predictions to those of other experts. (Spoiler alert: Steele is very optimistic about your chances of living a long and healthy life!)

What lies at the core of human nature? If you stripped away civilization, would we be fundamentally compassionate creatures? Or would we cheat, lie, and steal, with only self-interest in mind? In Humankind, historian Rutger Bregman suggests that most of us think of humans as naturally deceitful and cruel, seemingly with a lot of evidence to back us up: Throughout history, groups of humans have gone to war, committed genocide, and owned slaves.

But despite our history of evil, Bregman argues that humans are fundamentally good. In this guide, we’ll go into detail on why he thinks this, explaining his claim that humans evolved to be kind, not to kill. We’ll discuss his critique of Killer Ape Theory and the Stanford Prison Experiment, two pieces of evidence that often justify the idea that humans are inherently evil. We’ll also compare his view of human nature with those of other authors such as Philip Zimbardo (The Lucifer Effect) and Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow).

Are spicy foods bad for you? Can sleep deprivation be fatal? In The Body, bestselling author Bill Bryson takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the human body’s various systems. He examines how they work, how they can fail, and what can be done to fix them when that happens.

In this guide, we’ll focus on the practical takeaways from Bryson’s discussion and compare his advice to perspectives from other bestsellers, such as The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The 4-Hour Body, Why We Sleep, and How Not to Die. Along the way, you’ll learn why your sense of smell is probably as good as your dog’s, how hot peppers increase your life expectancy, and why you should let your teenager sleep in.