Eric Spitznagel
Latest Articles
Alex Navalny always knew he would die: Inside the Russian dissident's posthumous memoir
On Alexei Navalny’s first night in a prison cell, after being arrested at a Moscow airport in early 2021, he slept like a baby. “You would imagine you would be pacing around...
How Vladimir Putin outsmarted three US presidents
During a private fundraising event in New York in October, 2022, President Biden gave an ominous warning about the prospect of nuclear “Armageddon.” “We’ve got a guy I know fairly...
From Norway to New York, electric ferries are taking over the globe
Coming this fall, residents in Stockholm won’t have to endure the hour-long commute by car or train between Ekerö, a popular suburb, and central Stockholm, home to the historic City...
One day, we may all have brain chips to help remember where our keys are: scientists
Companies like Elon Musk's Neuralink and BrainGate2 aren't just helping people with ALS or brain injuries to communicate — they are also poised to help all of us, eventually, with...
Why the 1955 murder of Emmett Till still remains shrouded in racism and mystery
A new book details the mystery and indifference that still surround the murder of Emmett Till.
How AI is helping scientists finally predict earthquakes
When a 4.4-magnitude earthquake rattled Los Angeles on Aug.13, it didn’t come as a complete surprise to everybody. About a million Californians got an early alert on their phones that...
How 'Big Pharma' traded principles for profits: 'Hype fears' and 'exaggerate supposed benefits'
In December of 2002, Sharyl Attkisson, an Emmy-winning investigative reporter for CBS News, had an unsettling interview with smallpox expert Jonathan Tucker.
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.