Eric Spitznagel
Latest Articles
How dinosaurs changed the science and society of Victorian England
This year marks the 200th anniversary of one of the weirdest and most reality-shifting moments in science. On Feb. 20, 1824, at the annual meeting of the Geological Society in...
Why does cancer risk skyrocket as we age? How 'inflammaging' is the new tool to end the disease
One of the biggest mysteries of cancer is why it predominantly and almost exclusively targets people in middle age or older. During the first five decades of life, you’re twice...
Iran, Putin's mafia state: How despotic leaders are buying power across the globe
Today's autocracies run by “sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, a complex of security services, and technological experts who provide surveillance, propaganda, and disinformation.”
Will the River Seine be ready for Paris' 2024 Summer Olympics?
One of the biggest questions leading up to this summer Olympics in Paris — the opening ceremonies begin on July 26 — isn’t just who’ll be bringing home the gold...
Cher, cocaine and blood money at the Bellagio: What it was really like doing PR for dictators
Publicist Phil Elwood has written a book called “All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians."
Life as a millionaire — or a pauper: Inside the wild ride of a crypto trader
“When you think you’ve figured out the game and you’re about to get insanely rich,” Nathaniel Eliason writes, that’s when you’re about to lose it all.
Why the world is running out of everything
When the next shock comes — another pandemic, earthquake, or other unforeseen disaster — will the supply chain buckle yet again, all because companies wanted to fatten the pockets of...
Inside the Smithsonian's tropical research island in Panama
In a world that often feels like it has no more mysteries to discover (at least on land), scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have recently proven otherwise....
Insider reveals the secrets of the Situation Room — where high drama and low farce collide
In a fascinating new book, George Stephanopoulos focuses on the White House crisis center.
The crazy ways humans are trying to control the weather
Following the Dubai floods last month, new scrutiny is being given to weather-manipulation techniques.
How Fox News host Bill Hemmer conquered the Arctic
It started with a call from the US Navy back in November, asking if I’d be interested in taking a trip to the Arctic later that winter. It’d be part...
How the Nazis helped 'discover' LSD
A new book chronicles the multiple way the Nazis helped exploit and explore LSD.
How Salman Rushdie survived his assassin
In his new book, Knife, author Salman Rushdie discusses almost being killed by an assassin.
Inside the deadly government guns program that made the US less safe
A new book details "Operation Fast and Furious," which was intended to prevent gun smuggling to Mexico, but actually made the US less safe
Breaking down America's teenage mental health crisis: 'It's almost like a trend'
Nora, 16, is a fairly typical teenager. A high-school student from Southern California, she lives on Snapchat, has a mouth full of braces, sings in the school choir and a...
How Antwerp became the drug den of Europe
When you read a headline like “Four Shootings in Three Days,” it wouldn’t be unfair to think it’s been another violent week in Chicago or possibly Juarez, Mexico. But the...
How Elon Musk quickly destroyed the Twitter that Jack Dorsey built
A series of news books chronicle Elon Musk's disastrous take-over of Twitter.
How comic Volodymyr Zelensky became Ukraine's 'Man of the People'
A new book chronicles the Volodymyr Zelenksy's rise from comic to president of Ukraine during wartime.
How an Amish man got away with murder again and again: Book explores how culture of secrecy shielded killer
"This is about a conspiracy to cover up a crime and let a serial killer go free," says sleuth Gregg Olsen.
How one woman tracked the researchers who tracked her for decades
Breslin had long been aware she was a “human lab rat,” in her words, but it wasn’t until adulthood that she started to wonder what it was all about.