What It’s Like to Be…an Airline Pilot
Shooting cat-three landings in the fog, using the “voice of God” on unruly passengers, and declaring Mayday after an engine fire with Paul Drusch, a commercial airline pilot.
June 21st, 2026
Page 54 – Behavioral Scientist
What It’s Like to Be…a Clinical Ethicist
Untangling who gets to speak for a dying patient, weighing a treatment’s benefits against its burdens, and searching for clarity in the grayest corners of healthcare with Esther Berkowitz, a clinical ethicist.
June 14th, 2026
Announcing Our Summer Book Club and Podcast
Each summer, we read a novel and explore its themes through conversations with leading thinkers at the intersection of science and culture.
May 30th, 2026
The Psychology of the Home Run in 1921
Why was Babe Ruth so good at hitting a baseball? In 1921, a journalist and two psychologists brought the “home run king” into the lab to find out.
May 25th, 2026
What It’s Like to Be…a Correctional Officer
Grinding through 16-hour shifts, standing behind inmates (never in front), and trying to stay human in an inhuman environment with Bill Farrell, a correctional officer in Massachusetts.
May 24th, 2026
What Becomes of Second Chances?
Does erring toward leniency for first-time criminals amount to wisdom or wishful thinking?
May 23rd, 2026
What It’s Like to Be…a Custom Harvester
Harvesting five million bushels of wheat and corn from Texas to Montana, outrunning hailstorms that decimate a year’s income in 20 minutes, and running a multimillion-dollar convoy of equipment down the highway with Josh Beckley, a third-generation custom harvester from Kansas.
May 03rd, 2026
Helping Scientists Take Their Research Global: 7 Lessons
The W.E.I.R.D research participant problem persists not because scientists fail to see it as a problem worth solving, but because conducting studies in new, unfamiliar places is difficult. But overcoming this difficulty is doable and essential.
Climate Change Is Getting Worse. Why Don’t We See More Action?
The tech-first mindset to solving climate change rests on three myths about how global social change happens.
What It’s Like to Be…a Funeral Director
Guiding grieving families through arrangement meetings, orchestrating meaningful memorial services within days, and preparing bodies for viewing with Heather Hill, a funeral director in North Carolina.
