Ross Andersen
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Ross Andersen is a senior editor at The Atlantic where he oversees the Science, Health and Technology sections. He was formerly the deputy editor of Aeon.
Written by Ross Andersen
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Astronomy
In the beginning
Cosmology has been on a long, hot streak, racking up one imaginative and scientific triumph after another. Is it over?
Ross Andersen
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Cosmology
Exodus
Elon Musk argues that we must put a million people on Mars if we are to ensure that humanity has a future
Ross Andersen
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Food and drink
Sacrament
Wine is an elixir, a miracle-worker and shapeshifter – no wonder even the most secular of us hold it sacred still
Ross Andersen
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Ethics
Hell on Earth
What happens to life sentences if our lifespan is radically extended? A philosopher talks about future punishment
Ross Andersen
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Architecture
Embracing the void
The ancients had pyramids to tame the sky’s mystery. We have Star Axis, a masterpiece forty years in the making
Ross Andersen
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Omens
When we peer into the fog of the deep future what do we see – human extinction or a future among the stars?
Ross Andersen
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Deep time
The vanishing groves
A chronicle of climates past and a portent of climates to come – the telling rings of the bristlecone pine
Ross Andersen
Edited by Ross Andersen
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Family life
Korean Thanksgiving
‘Take a photo of the spread,’ my mother says. ‘This way you can remember what to arrange when I’m dead.’
Mary H K Choi
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Stories and literature
Future reading
Digital books stagnate in closed, dull systems, while printed books are shareable, lovely and enduring. What comes next?
Craig Mod
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Information and communication
Broken links
When no ancient chat or post is beyond the grasp of Google, what matters more: the right to forget, or to be remembered?
Alana Massey
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Palaeontology
Origins
Paleogenetics is helping to solve the great mystery of prehistory: how did humans spread out over the earth?
Jacob Mikanowski
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Cities
Homes for the homeless
San Francisco’s homeless are harangued and despised while conservative Utah has a radically humane approach
Susie Cagle
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Knowledge
When the truth hurts
The truth about health or personal relationships can entail pain and regret. Is it sometimes better to stay in the dark?
Jess Whittlestone
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Knowledge
Rock of ages
Archaeologists used to be obsessed with religion. Now they can’t be bothered with it. Is the field worse off?
Rose Eveleth
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Architecture
Desert utopia
It might be pleasing to dream of arcologies, mega-cities, and space colonies – but no one can design the perfect human community
Jared Keller
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History
What lies beneath
From Piltdown to Mormon seer stones, prehistory has always beckoned the trickster, since bad science makes for good stories
Ted Scheinman
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Death
To heaven and back
Is the heaven tourism memoir spiritual kitsch for the superficial seeker, or an earnest attempt to wrestle with death?
Mya Frazier
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Childhood and adolescence
Where’s Bobbi Fischer?
Little girls sign up to play chess in droves. So why are so few of the world’s top players women?
Hana Schank
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Biology
Earth’s aliens
Alien lifeforms might be living right under our noses, but how can we find them if we don’t know what we’re looking for?
Sarah Scoles