Pulling back the curtain
MIT anthropologist Graham Jones peers into the mysterious world of professional magicians.
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3 Questions: Roberto Rigobon on world markets
MIT expert in international economics surveys a month of turmoil.
Cracking the code
MIT sociologist’s book takes an insider look at investment banking and the high-risk trades that can spin out of control.
Wisdom of crowds
In countries that lack financial records, how can we tell who is truly poor? An innovative study suggests: Ask the neighbors.
In Profile: Kenneth Oye
A political scientist aims to help governments assess the potential risks of new technologies.
When it pays to spend on health care
MIT study shows that spending more on emergency-room patients saves lives.
Face value
Study shows that low-information voters are most likely to be swayed by candidates’ appearances.
Medicaid’s impact, finally measured
Unique study shows the effects of health insurance program: More treatment and fewer financial shocks for the poor, more bills paid for hospitals and doctors.
Hippie days
How a handful of countercultural scientists changed the course of physics in the 1970s and helped open up the frontier of quantum information.
3 Questions: David Singer on the Greek Euro-tragedy
Political scientist David Singer explains why Greece seemingly can’t live with the Euro, and can’t live without it.
3 Questions: Dennis Frenchman on making cities sustainable
How the form of urban spaces adds to the energy they use.
Wind, war and weathermen
How a Swedish bon vivant let MIT introduce modern meteorology to America — just in time to help the Allies win World War II.