I accepted the risk when I ordered a penguin from Argentina: Uncle Sam might tax it.  It wasn’t one of the actual flightless birds; it was a green ceramic pitcher resembling a penguin with a curved handle and beak serving as a spout, often used to pour house wines at cheap bars in Buenos Aires. […]

Bettors on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have wagered hundreds of millions of dollars on the current conflict in Iran. Which means lots and lots of folks are trying to get rich betting on wars.  In the lead-up to the United States and Israel’s attack on Iran, prediction markets saw a frenzy of activity […]

Over the last two decades, the availability of plant-based foods has exploded.  You can get a meat-free patty in your Burger King Whopper if that’s your thing, buy realistic “chicken” nuggets at your local grocery store, or order marbled plant-based steak from food startups. But one animal-free food category has truly escaped containment from the vegan […]

In the early 1800s, in southwestern Germany, outbreaks of a mysterious illness spread throughout the countryside. People who came down with it had terrible symptoms. Their eyelids would droop. Their speech would slur. They’d be gripped by a paralysis that, once it reached their breathing muscles, could be fatal.  A young doctor named Justinus Kerner […]

For the past quarter century, the future of monarch butterflies has looked dire, with these iconic American insects flitting toward extinction. Now, however, there is at least a small reason for hope: New data from WWF Mexico, a large conservation group, offers further evidence that the decline of eastern monarchs — the world’s largest population — has […]