Imagine that work had taken over the world. It would be the centre around which the rest of life turned. Then all else would come to be subservient to work. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, anything else – the games once played, the songs hitherto sung, the loves fulfilled, the festivals celebrated – would come to resemble, and ultimately become, work. And then there would come a time, itself largely unobserved, when the many worlds that had once existed before work took over the world would vanish completely from the cultural record, having fallen into oblivion.

A new book unpacks how “summer reading” became a category unto itself.

When you're a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman named LaKiesha, life can get complicated. This Ohio woman with a name that blurs racial boundaries says people often treat her as an imposter.

The researchers have determined that gum disease (gingivitis) plays a decisive role in whether a person developes Alzheimer´s or not. “We discovered DNA-based proof that the bacteria causing gingivitis can move from the mouth to the brain,” says researcher Piotr Mydel at Broegelmanns Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen (UiB).

The human brain can’t contend with the vastness of online shopping.

The sharing economy meets the mania for decluttering, as people realise they can let others use their spare rooms, sheds and attics for cash

Photo by Marketa. I recently received a message from a friend of mine, a young man named Mike. He told me that Digital Minimalism had changed his life.

Stop being so busy, and just do nothing. Trust us.

As technology continues to progress, the possibility of an abundant future seems more likely. Artificial intelligence is expected to drive down the cost of labor, infrastructure, and transport. Alternative energy systems are reducing the cost of a wide variety of goods. Poverty rates are falling around the world as more people are able to make a living, and resources that were once inaccessible to millions are becoming widely available.

In bedrooms all over England, things have changed since 2001. According to analysis released Tuesday in the BMJ, couples in the UK just aren’t getting it on like they used to in the early 2000s. This represents a dearth in sexual activity that scientists say is just as “interesting” as it is “unexplained.”

Thousands of Cuban doctors work in healthcare missions around the world. Some medics say conditions can be nightmarish.

In Indonesia there are areas where almost all young mothers go to work abroad. Indonesians call them the "motherless villages".

Ditch your open office, drink coffee strategically, and put your smartphone away to trick your brain into getting more done.

The degrowth movement wants to intentionally shrink the economy to address climate change, and create lives with less stuff, less work, and better well-being. But is it a utopian fantasy?

Vern Loomis, a retired structural draftsman in West Bloomfield, Michigan, had a standard office lunch: a peanut-butter sandwich, with various fruit, vegetable, and dessert accompaniments. He ate this, he estimates, nearly every workday for about 25 years.

For now and probably forever.

It's even harder to decipher the fake from the facts on April Fools' Day.

Rummaging through your refrigerator, you come across a jar of mayonnaise labeled “BEST IF USED BY 06/10/19.” If it’s mid-July, are you risking illness by slathering it on your sandwich and eating it? It’s hard to say. Massachusetts and New Jersey are considering measures to clear up the confusion, following a California law that went into effect earlier this year. Several other states also are looking at labeling bills, as anti-food waste groups advocate for clearer signs to indicate when food is okay to eat, even if it’s not the freshest.

Japan has an increasing percentage of young adults with no history of heterosexual vaginal intercourse. Public health experts at the University of Tokyo completed the most detailed analysis of national fertility survey data to date to understand trends in sexual experience over the past three decades. "Previous news reports about virginity rates among Japanese young adults were a bit sensationalist, only included never-married individuals, and did not distinguish virginity rates by age group," said Dr. Peter Ueda, an expert in epidemiology and public health and leader of the research project.

Any number of world religions may claim to have the monopoly on enlightenment, but a study published Thursday in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality challenges the idea that being religious is the most consistent way to feel satisfied with life. The researchers behind the study argue that a better predictor of life satisfaction is a sense of oneness with the world — a mindset that people of all creeds can adopt.

To understand the urgency of rethinking our societal values, let’s start with a kitchen table conversation common in homes with young children: whether to use daycare. Can a single parent or a couple gain more by working than staying at home with the kids? Likely considerations include how rewarding the job is in various ways, the long-term cost of dropping out of the workforce, and the quality and affordability of daycare.

Here is what I said to my distressed, dying child, as lovingly and reassuringly as possible: “You will not be alone. You will not feel pain. We will be okay.” He needed each of these phrases more than “I love you.”

Twenty-five-year-old Sotaro Ito lives in a 9.46-square-meter apartment with a loft in the capital's retro-hip Koenji district...

In the race for jobs, the capacity for leisure can give humans a surprising edge.

In 1780, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, in which he laid out his plans for what his children and grandchildren would devote their lives to. Having himself taken the time to master “Politicks and War,” two revolutionary necessities, Adams hoped his children would go into disciplines that promoted nation-building, such as “mathematicks,” “navigation,” and “commerce.”

Artist Tony Luciani was testing out a new camera when his 91-year-old mother, Elia, snuck into the background of his photos. The spontaneous images that resulted sparked a years-long collaboration, with Luciani documenting his mom's life and spirit as she lived with dementia. In this touching talk, he shares the stories behind some of their favorite shots, capturing the joy and grief of caring for an aging parent.

Digital recruiting is leaving more of a forensic trail in discrimination cases. But a wave of litigation is running up against higher legal hurdles.

New research adds two new "chronotypes" to the morning/night dichotomy.

Sleeping where I worked blurred my work-life boundaries

by Rudyard Kipling

In his new book, David Graeber examines the decoupling of work from meaningful activity.

Part of creating your dream life is finding financial freedom and abundance. That means having enough money so that you no longer worry or stress about how you're going to pay your bills. You want enough money to live comfortably and happily.

At 107, Anthony Mancinelli has been cutting clients’ hair for 96 years. And counting.

Amid sexual abuse lawsuits and dwindling membership, the Boy Scouts of America may file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Is nothing sacred?

There was once a path to a stable and prosperous life in America that has since closed off. It was a well-traveled path for many Americans: Graduate from high school and get a job, typically with a local manufacturer or one of the service industries associated with it, and earn enough to support a family. The idea was not only that it was possible to achieve this kind of success, but that anyone could achieve it—the American dream. That dream defines my family’s history, and its disappearance calls me to action today.