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Nautilus

Howard A. Smith is a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard‐Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a lecturer at Harvard University, where he has been recognized for excellence in teaching. He is an author on over 350 scientific publications and the book, Let There Be Light: Modern Cosmology and Kabbalah, a New Conversation between Science and Religion. Prior to coming to Harvard he was the chair of astronomy at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum; and a visiting discipline scientist in astrophysics at NASA Headquarters.

Howard A. Smith

Philosophy

Does Science Suggest Humans Have a Cosmic Role?

David A. Weintraub is a professor of astronomy at Vanderbilt University and the author of Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?

David A. Weintraub

An Alien Adaptability Scorecard for the World’s Biggest Religions

Brian Gallagher is an associate editor at Nautilus. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) <a href="https://twitter.com/bsgallagher/" rel="noopener">@bsgallagher</a>.

Brian Gallagher

This Simple Philosophical Puzzle Shows How Difficult It Is to Know Something

Matthew Sedacca

It’s Time to Retire the “Trolley Problem”

How to Solve the World’s Hardest Logic Puzzle

Cody Delistraty

You Can’t Upload Your “Self” Into Virtual Reality

Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he works on analysis of infectious disease outbreaks, work that won him the 2023 Adams Prize for mathematics. He regularly appears in print and broadcast media and is the author of the recently published <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-kucharski/proof/9781541606692/">Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty</a>. He lives in Hertfordshire, U.K.

Adam Kucharski

Euclid as Founding Father

Mark Titus

Consciousness Is Made of Atoms, Too

Peter Byrne

Why Science Should Stay Clear of Metaphysics

Regan Penaluna is a Brooklyn-based journalist who writes about science, philosophy, and the natural world. Her book How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind was a New York Times Editors’ Choice.

Regan Penaluna

Head to Head: Should We Allow a Doping Free-for-All?

Thomas Levenson is a professor of science writing at MIT. He is the author of several books, including So Very Small, Money for Nothing, The Hunt for Vulcan, Einstein in Berlin, and Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World’s Greatest Scientist. He has also made ten feature-length documentaries for which he has won numerous awards.

Thomas Levenson

The Lessons of a Ghost Planet

Sean Carroll

Zombies Must Be Dualists