Like cigarette manufacturers decades ago, e-cigarette makers have pitched their products as fun and safe. But nobody knows what the risks are.

In the 1960s, fears of overpopulation sparked talk of population control. So what happened?

Newborns today are tested for genetic and immune disorders that might not be apparent at birth. The tests evolved from the treatment of a patient with a rare diagnosis who became known as “the Boy in the Bubble.”

Is geo-engineering the climate an answer to global warming? Cold War science has some lessons.

President Trump’s efforts to clamp down on White House leaks echoed a pattern set during the Nixon era.

How a pill that led to drug safety guidelines became a case study for rising drug prices.

Across the globe, more and more people are living longer lives and that's redefining what it means to be over 65, and what the future might mean for retirement. 

Online learning is indeed disrupting college as we know it -- but not in the way you might think.

The increasing scarcity of drinking water is beginning to capture the world's attention -- but surprisingly, an innovative solution might just be found in one of the Earth's driest places.

As gaming becomes the dominant form of entertainment this century, game developers increasingly track player behavior to tailor experiences that will keep people playing longer and spending more money.

In the latest installment of our “What Happens Next” series examining the future of society, we visit Medellín, Colombia—a city that has reinvented itself over the past few decades, turning its violent past into a sustainable future by transforming its slums.

In the 1980s, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the shooting of his press secretary, Jim Brady, led to the Brady Bill. Decades later, are there lessons from that fight for the Parkland students?

Donald Trump has used populist politics to appeal to voters who are fed up with the status quo. We look at another politician who tapped into America’s divisions decades ago: George Wallace.

A skepticism of science has seeped into the classroom, and it’s revived attacks on one of the most established principles of biology – evolution.

Future of Money, the first in a 5-part series, looks at what ancient stones on a tiny Pacific island can teach us about Bitcoin, blockchains and the future of money.

Guatemalan homesteaders and a Michigan contractor are riding a wave that could change how our lives are wired.

Online manipulation and immersive media have begun to eradicate our shared notion of authenticity and trust. How will society change when we can no longer believe what we see, hear, or think?

A small South Dakota farm holds lessons for feeding a crowded and less predictable world.

Author Rachel Carson's strike against the pesticide DDT turned her into both an environmental hero and a foil for those who believe regulation has gone too far. That fight is more relevant than ever.

In the late 1990s, Princess Diana brought public attention to land mine victims. But, more than two decades after her death, how much progress has been made in the worldwide fight against leftover munitions?

In the digital age, where everyday people can suddenly become public enemy number one, how do we strike the balance between keeping free speech alive online and preventing a cyber mob from taking over?

For decades the United States has been on a quest to perfect stealth technology, but development of the F-35 fighter jet shows just how complicated dreams can become.

Thirty-five years after the first dietary guidelines, how much do we really know about the science behind a healthy diet?

The curious origin of a political metaphor.

SWAT teams were created in the 1960s to combat violent events. Since then, the specialized teams have morphed into a force increasingly used in routine policing, most often to serve drug warrants,sometimes with disastrous results. Which raises the question -- are we too militarized?

In the 1980s, many government officials, scientists, and journalists warned that the country would be plagued by a generation of “crack babies.” They were wrong. More than 25 years later, the media is sounding a similar alarm.

Twenty-six years ago, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and generated a legacy that continues to shape antigovernment groups today.

The murder of four American churchwomen focused attention on the United States' involvement in El Salvador. Decades later, the case continues to take surprising turns.

Four decades after the accident at Three Mile Island cast a shadow on the atomic dream, is America again ready to give nuclear energy a chance?

Long before Edward Snowden, there was the greatest heist you've never heard of. On March 8, 1971, a group of eight Vietnam War protestors broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole hundreds of government documents that shocked a nation.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, and Louisiana’s troubled housing recovery has shaped the response to every major disaster since, including Hurricane Sandy.

In 1988, the nation learned the truth about the alleged crimes against Tawana Brawley, but the shocking story was far from over.

In the 1980s, images of tiny, jittery "crack babies" caused social outcry -- crack-addicted pregnant mothers were prosecuted and the media warned that a generation of “crack babies” would plague our country. Turns out… they were wrong.