Science is rooted in "empiricism" -- the idea that the only way to learn about nature is via experiment and observation. But what if you could gain new knowledge just by thinking about a problem? In this feature for The Philosopher's Zone, on ABC Radio National (Australia), I look at the strange world of "thought experiments." (See also my feature in Aeon from December 2017.)

Galileo and Einstein were masters of the "thought experiment." But how can these exercises of the imagination tell us anything about the actual, physical world? My feature story for Aeon.

When gravitational wave detectors registered ripples in space-time from a pair of colliding neutron stars, the race was on to see if we could also see it, using optical telescopes. My report for University of Toronto Magazine.

For the first time, astronomers have detected gravitational waves from a pair of merging neutron stars -- and they've also seen in optically and via radio waves, gamma rays, and more. As I report for Mental Floss, it's a breakthrough on many fronts.