Politics

Iran’s parliament has banned vasectomies, saying that more babies will “strengthen national identity” and counter “undesirable aspects of Western lifestyles.” Reformists see the law as part of a drive by conservatives to keep Iran’s highly educated female population in traditional roles as wives and mothers.

The Technological Decision That Doomed Richard Nixon

A botched burglary, lies, cover-ups, abuse of power—all of these things culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon forty years ago. But history could have turned out differently if the scandal-ridden president had not made a fateful decision years earlier. [Image: Library of Congress] Less than a week into his presidency, Nixon was anxious…

Has One of Your Teachers Ever Tried to Teach You Fake Science?

Science education has always been political. School boards sometimes order teachers to instruct their students that evolution is “just one theory,” or to leave sexual reproduction out of health classes. Teachers themselves sometimes insert their pet theories into science classes. Has this happened to you? Have you ever discovered that one of your teachers was…

Should Environmentalist Politicians Focus Less On Climate Change?

Today we debunked the claim that scientists in 1970s commonly believed that the Earth was headed for another ice age and had a number of discussions about global warming and environmentalism—including whether politicians should talk about climate change less and other advantages of sustainable policies more. Image by Andrea Della Adriano. Commenter StormDaughter argues that…

The Weirdest Micronations That Have Ever Existed

Living in a regular country, with a normal government, can get annoying sometimes. Taxes, laws, political disputes… it’s all kind of a bummer. So why not go live in a tiny country of your own? Some people have done it — and here are the most creative and strangest tiny nations on Earth, past and…

The Biggest Source of Disinformation On The Gaza Conflict Is Ourselves

New data visualizations give a startling picture of online activity during the latest conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. And they reveal just how much online media and social networks help us to create our own information bubbles, customized to reinforce our political beliefs. [Image Source: U.S. State Department] Gilad Lotan is the chief data scientist…

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) warns that some of the 30,000 children who have crossed illegally into the U.S. from Central America might have Ebola. The U.S. Office of Refugee Settlement says none of the children are infected, which is unsurprising since no one in the Western Hemisphere has ever contracted the disease.

I Prefer Watching These Heavily Slurred Versions of American History

Drunk History is in many ways the best show on television at the moment. You get the LOLs of absurdist sketch comedy while arming yourself with enough History Channel-quality Fun Facts™ to make you sound smart the next day. At the same time, it feels like hosting a party in your living room—one that inevitably…

​In Kentucky, Taxpayers Will Keep A New Noah’s Ark Theme Park Afloat

The biblical theme park Ark Encounter — a project run by the young-Earth creationist group Answers In Genesis— will break ground next week, thanks in part to $18.25 million worth of tax incentives unanimously approved by the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority. The approval is preliminary, pending a feasibility study and public hearing, but the…

​Boy Scouts: Gays Aren’t Pedophiles, But We Still Won’t Let Them Lead

On January 1 of this year, the Boy Scouts of America opened its doors to openly gay scouts. But, it still bars gay adult leaders. We talked about this issue with the organization’s National Commissioner and asked him if Scouting considers gays pedophiles. IndefinitelyWild: Does the Boy Scouts consider gay adults predators or pedophiles? Tico…

The U.S. Economy Is A Casualty Of NSA Surveillance Programs

Ever since Edward Snowden revealed the true extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance methods, the public debate has focused mostly on issues of privacy and national security. But new evidence shows that the fallout from the NSA backlash is wider than we thought, and could cost U.S. companies billions. [Image: Flickr] A report published…

A bill introduced in Congress could be an important step in clarifying property rights in outer space. The ASTEROIDS Act says that resources obtained from asteroids legally belong to the company or other entity that extracted them, but it has some kinks to work out, such as the legal definition of an “asteroid.”

Nearly 750,000 U.S. Weapons Are Unaccounted For In Afghanistan

A recently discovered database failure is certain to have lethal consequences: Many of the 747,000 weapons that the Defense Department provided to the Afghan National Security Forces were not properly labeled and tracked—which means that insurgents or arms dealers could easily get hold of them. According to a report published by the Special Inspector General…

Senate Abortion Hearing Reveals Junk Science Behind Women’s Health Laws

This month, a Senate committee held a hearing on whether to halt the growing number of state laws reducing access to abortion services in the name of protecting women’s health. The “expert” testimony revealed just how much these laws rely on fringe science and discredited research. Image by Zdorov Kirill Vladimirovich via Shutterstock The Women’s…

Secret Tunnels in Warfare Are Less of a Threat Than You Think

Israeli troops claim that they have discovered more secret tunnels that Hamas is using to get into the country. Though the tunnels sound terrifying, military strategy experts say they have little value when it comes to battlefield results. Image via Israel Defense Forces In the Washington Post this weekend, history professor Gerard Degroot explains that…

Anti-GMO activist Mike Adams, who last week called for his followers to kill journalists who cover biotech, claims the “hit list” site attributed to him is actually a false flag created by pro-Monsanto forces. But this investigation reveals that there’s a lot of evidence connecting Adams to the hit list site.

How Wildlife Decline Leads to Slavery and Terrorism

The harvest of wild animals each year injects more than $400 billion dollars into the world economy. That harvest provides 15% of the planet’s human population with a livelihood. It’s the primary source of animal protein for more than a billion of our species. It’s also led to piracy, slavery, and terrorism. The over-harvest of…

Patent Trolling Is Worse Than Any Other Time in History

It’s the tech world’s version of ambulance chasing: firms that earn money by asserting patent rights against other companies, without manufacturing any useful products of their own. And, according to the latest numbers, the economic burden of patent lawsuits is now unprecedented in U.S. history. By filing one frivolous lawsuit after another, the trolls shakedown…

Space Junk Is Becoming a Serious Security Threat

Theresa Hitchens wants to make the world safer. She’s director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, but one of her biggest concerns floats above national boundaries. She told io9 about the growing dangers of orbital space debris, and the obstacles standing in the way of cleaning it up. Previously, Hitchens was director of the…

Anti-GMO activist Mike Adams, featured recently on Dr. Oz, has issued a call for his followers to kill journalists he calls “Monsanto collaborators” because they have written about the possible benefits of GMOs. His homicidal logic is based on the myth that GMOs are causing mass suicides in India, which he’s dubbed “genocide.”