The First ‘Nigerian Prince’ Scam
As humans, our desire to seem nice can lead us to being conned.
23:39
The Grifter’s Real Game? Psychology
In “The Confidence Game,” Maria Konnikova explains how human psychology predisposes us to take the grifter’s bait.
Opening the Memory Bank
The New York Public Library just made it easier for the public to access thousands of digitized high-resolution items as part of an effort to preserve our cultural history in the Internet Age.
4:57
These Outmoded Scientific Instruments Are Also Things of Beauty
Steve Erenberg collects early scientific and medical instruments that are also things of beauty.
The Week-After Science Friday Quiz! 1/5/16
How much do you know about the early days of the personal computer?
Things of Beauty: Scientific Instruments of Yore
Brimming with Victorian medical masks, surreal anatomical models, and futuristic test prostheses, Steve Erenberg’s store/museum in Peekskill, New York offers a tour of long-forgotten devices.
21:06
From the Origin of Art, to the End of Humanity
In 2011, a novelist, a filmmaker, and a physicist joined Ira for a wide-ranging conversation about art, science, and the mysterious place where they intersect.
17:25
Two Cosmic Explorers Investigate the World Within Us
In this archival interview from October 9, 1992, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan talk about their book “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: A Search for Who We Are.”
17:17
‘Findings’ Collects Science’s Best One-Liners
Harper’s magazine’s Findings column is a news ticker for science’s most fascinating—and flummoxing—facts.