For the last few years, we’ve been asking Future Perfect newsletter readers what their biggest questions are. And while we usually answer privately, we figured we’d try something new: a reader mailbag! This week, we’ve answered questions from three readers on classic FP issues: artificial intelligence, animal welfare coverage, and, of course, altruistic kidney donations. […]

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. It has been 20 years since New Orleans’ faulty levee system failed during Hurricane Katrina, causing a flood that claimed almost 1,400 lives and inflicted more than $150 billion in economic damage. The catastrophe was so bad […]

The two and a half weeks since President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington, DC, police department have mixed the disturbing and the comical. Combined with the spectacle of the National Guard picking up trash, there’s been a lot of law enforcement activity aimed at unauthorized immigrants. But many residents, though annoyed at Trump’s move, […]

Your Mileage May Vary is an advice column offering you a unique framework for thinking through your moral dilemmas. It’s based on value pluralism — the idea that each of us has multiple values that are equally valid but that often conflict with each other. To submit a question, fill out this anonymous form. Here’s this week’s question from a […]

A Vox reader asks: What exactly are parasocial relationships and why are they so prevalent now? Here’s a hypothetical scenario: You hear your favorite podcasters every day. You know their voices by heart. They’re chatty and relatable, and they casually reveal all the details of their lives — and what they don’t say on the […]