Author: David Reyes

The history of television has an odd tendency to leave hints behind. They are occasionally kept in orderly archives. Occasionally, they disappear. And sometimes their only means of survival are audio recordings, half-remembered tales, and the unwavering devotion of fans. That was essentially the case with the expansive science-fiction epic Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan, which aired in late 1965 and early 1966. It’s easy to forget how ambitious the story was when viewing the surviving pieces today—grainy black-and-white footage, stiff costumes, Daleks rolling across basic sets. It became the longest serial in Doctor Who history with twelve episodes.…

The North Sea appears almost unremarkable on a calm day. Gray water is traversed slowly by fishing boats. In the distance, oil platforms resemble mechanical islands. Above the wind, seabirds circle. The violent tale that lies hundreds of meters below the surface is not hinted at. However, Silverpit Crater, a roughly three-kilometer-wide geological scar, is located far beneath that placid water. Scientists argued over how it formed for years. A seabed collapse or shifting salt deposits were suspected by some. Others thought something more dramatic had occurred. According to recent research, the dramatic explanation—that an asteroid once crashed into the…

In the early hours following the attack, the road outside Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, appeared unusually quiet. Parts of the street were blocked off by police cars. In between the lamp posts was yellow tape. A few locals stood close by, whispering to each other as they attempted to piece together what had transpired the previous evening. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali’s name kept coming up in police briefings and news alerts amid all of that confusion. Ghazali, 41, reportedly worked at a restaurant in Dearborn Heights and had lived in the Detroit suburbs for many years. Later on, neighbors…

There may still be a piece of television history sitting quietly in a metal film can somewhere in a dusty cupboard, perhaps in an old film laboratory or the attic of a collector who never realized what he owned. The decades-long hunt for the missing Doctor Who episodes has been fueled by that possibility, which is both optimistic and unlikely. The story starts in the early 1960s when the BBC aired what many executives reportedly thought was an oddball science-fiction experiment. Television had a different appearance back then. The studios were small. Plywood and optimism were used to make sets.…

Ernie Anastos had a certain steadiness about him. New York viewers had become accustomed to seeing his serene countenance on TV screens every night—a presence that seemed to last forever. However, after learning of his death in March 2026 at the age of 82, discussions swiftly shifted from his career to a question that people frequently ask following a lengthy public life: what was Ernie Anastos’ exact net worth? The solution isn’t totally clear-cut. His wealth may have been closer to $8 million, according to some financial trackers, while other estimates put it at about $3.5 million. Such variation is…

The parking lot outside UniFirst’s headquarters in Wilmington, Massachusetts, starts to fill up before dawn on a normal weekday morning. Delivery drivers arrive first, emerging from vans that still smell like clean cotton and detergent. Inside the building, engineers, logistics planners, and executives filter toward their desks, preparing for another day in the surprisingly complex business of renting and laundering work uniforms. Seldom does this industry make headlines. However, UniFirst Corporation, the company in charge of this operation, has expanded into a multibillion-dollar business. Like most businesses of that size, concerns about compensation and leadership also come up from time…

The energy sector appeared different early one summer morning in 2020 than many employees had seen for decades. During the pandemic, oil demand had plummeted, rigs were closing throughout North America, and businesses that had previously talked confidently about expansion were now talking about survival. Ovintiv, the oil company formerly known as Encana, decided in that tense moment that it would have an impact on offices from Calgary to Denver. The business declared that it was laying off about 25% of its employees. The news was delivered to the staff members in a quiet but impactful manner. Internal emails were…

A small group of people congregate next to a metal tub filled with water that appears to be extremely cold at 6:30 in the morning. As one participant lowers himself into the ice bath and breathes sharply as the water hits his chest, steam from nearby coffee cups drifts upward. Someone counts out loud. Thirty seconds. Forty. One minute. Naturally, phones capture the moment. The odd thing, though, is how routine this ritual has begun to feel. In some quarters of contemporary wellness culture, cold plunges, fasting windows, and a “dopamine detox” have practically become commonplace. If you spend enough…

When workers at various Atlassian offices opened their laptops on a Wednesday that started like many others in the technology industry, they discovered something strange. Chat rooms within the company were busier than usual. Supervisors were calling impromptu meetings. A few hours later, the company announced that it was laying off about 1,600 employees, or 10% of its total workforce. It was an oddly ironic moment for a company that built its reputation on collaboration software. Engineering teams have long relied on Atlassian’s tools, such as Jira, Confluence, and Trello, as their digital glue. Thousands of software developers rely on…

Something subtle becomes apparent when you stroll through the refrigerated section of a contemporary supermarket. “Digestive balance” is promised by yogurts. beverages with prebiotic fiber. Snack bars whispering about microbiomes in tiny print on the back. These labels would have seemed strange and perhaps even suspicious a few years ago. They are now ubiquitous, subtly turning supermarket shelves into something akin to a wellness lab. Although the rise in interest in gut health is remarkable, it didn’t happen overnight. For decades, scientists have been mapping the complexity of the human microbiome, which consists of the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit…