The social determinants of health—how living conditions, family life, poverty, homelessness and other factors affect human health—have emerged as key factors in understanding health outcomes. Dr. Maria Raven shines a critical light on the complexity of cases she sees every day in one major city’s emergency room.

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Dr. Michael Fine was outraged—like a lot of Americans. So he traveled to see first-hand the human cost of this war.

Of all the hashtag social movements, #MeToo has proven among the most enduring—for its truth, for the power imbalance it revealed, and because so many women had the courage to speak out. Winnie M Li told her story in her first novel. Now, in her second novel, she tells another about appearance, reality, and the facades that dominate public life, whether in the film industry or at the corner shop.

We grow up being educated on the power of science to explain the physical world. But Dr. Elena Conis offers a more complex view of the role of science in public life—and the stories and understanding it offers all of us as we grapple with everything from pesticides, to vaccines, and climate change.

The long arc of history bends towards greater and more complex levels of cooperation. But Jonathan Haidt says that over the last 10 years American society has become ever more fragmented—all thanks to the rise of social media.

Caring for a sick or aging loved one can be an uncertain journey filled with every emotion—from love and devotion to anger and frustration. Dave Iverson pulls back the curtain on the decade he spent caring for his elderly mother to offer a modern love story with insights and meaning for anyone who is a caregiver or anyone who has ever loved.

Food is central to the daily existence of Americans, whether we are growing it, shopping for it, preparing it, or consuming it. Dr. Joseph C. Ewoodzie, Jr. argues that, for many, food intersects with race and class to help form our identity as individuals.

Infectious disease has shaped the course of human history—and, as the last couple of years remind us, it continues to do so. Vidya Krishnan puts the focus on more than just the viruses and bacteria that cause illness, she turns our attention to societal factors like race, gender, and class to understand the anti-science rhetoric and politics that shape so much of the modern world and limit the global response to disease.

In 2021 online video games produced more than $180 billion in revenue for more than 2.8 billion users. Dr. Jessica White warns that hidden in all of that cash and among all of those users are extremists who encourage and often inspire real-world violence.