In Search of Weird Life

Just how weird could life be – either on our own planet, or beyond?  I review David Toomey’s book Weird Life in today’s Globe and Mail newspaper.

Science at the Movies

I'm thrilled to be acting as moderator for "Science at the Movies," a series of three science-themed films, with expert panelists, coming to the Bloor HotDocs Cinema in Toronto. The …

Time Warped

How do our brains process time? I explore the puzzle of time perception in the January issue of Smithsonian magazine.

The God Particle

Physics books — Neil Turok's The Universe Within is the latest — sell like hot cakes, even though we struggle to understand their content. Are we hoping to find more …

The Science of Morality

How do we know right from wrong? For centuries, religion and philosophy tried to provide answers. Now psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology are weighing in. Part One of my documentary, …

Could the Internet “wake up”?

Could the Internet become conscious? In my first article for Slate / FutureTense, I speak with Christof Koch, Robert J. Sawyer, Daniel Dennett, and Sean Carroll about what, if anything, …