At the turn of the 20th century, television began to morph into a new, more expansive medium. NBC’s stranglehold on comedy loosened, giving way to more varied perspectives and formats. On HBO, The Sopranos entered its second season, and would go on to not only create the blueprint for prestige TV, but redefine dramatic television and champion the kind of antihero who would dominate the rest of the decade. Then, eight months into the new millennium, 51.7 million people watched the season finale of Survivor, ushering in a boom of reality TV.

How to succeed at self-sabotage. Most of us claim we want to be happy—to have meaningful lives, enjoy ourselves, experience fulfillment, and share love and friendship with other people and maybe other species, like dogs, cats, birds, and whatnot. Strangely enough, however, some people act as if they just want to be miserable, and they succeed remarkably at inviting misery into their lives, even though they get little apparent benefit from it, since being miserable doesn’t help them find lovers and friends, get better jobs, make more money, or go on more interesting vacations. Why do they do this?

Bill Gates shares five amazing books he read in 2017 including “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui, “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond, “Believe Me” by Eddie Izzard, “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and “Energy and Civilization” by Vaclav Smil.

We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in business, tech, and science writing.

There's nothing better than curling up next to a fire with a good book, especially during the bitter cold winter! This infographic shares some great book options, old and new, to cozy up with.

Time travel as we see it in movies—using DeLoreans, phone booths, hot tubs, and the like—obviously doesn’t exist. But throughout history, people have insisted that they somehow managed to do it. Though most of their wild tales were eventually disproven, the stories are still incredible. Here are five of the most memorable.

We are outspoken about our optimism. These days, though, optimism seems to be in short supply. The headlines are filled with awful news. Every day brings a different story of political division, violence, or natural disaster. Image Despite the headlines, we see a world that’s getting better.

Check out TIME's annual list of the most influential people.

Used since hundreds of years ago, books are probably the most important step in mankind's evolution. From the papyrus scrolls used in the Ancient Egypt and the manuscripts in the monasteries of The Middle Ages, books evolved a lot. Let's find out which are the top 10 most expensive books ever sold.

Arguments are inevitable in any relationship — especially if you’re being a bitch. But fighting with your dude doesn’t necessarily have to mean leaving a FEMA-level dating-disaster blast zone in your wake. There are certain clichés that will never, ever be a good idea in the heat of battle. Make sure you don’t utter one …

Bill Gates has become a powerful influence on publishing. An endorsement from the philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder can cause tangible sales spikes, reminiscent of the golden ticket that once came with being picked for Oprah’s book club. So just what does Gates read? Quartz manually compiled all 186 of the books mentioned on his blog, which dates back to January 2010, and organized them by topic. We’ve included all titles, even those of which Gates was mostly critical, like Matt Ridley’s The Rational Optimist. But this is relatively rare; Gates usually only blogs about books he recommends.

You’re on your first date, things are already a little uncomfortable and awkward, so what’s worse than watching a movie that only makes the awkwardness stand out more? Movies are supposed to be the easy out in easing the tension between the two of you, allowing you to have some quiet time

My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more...

Some industries tend to have more use for social media than others.

It was quite a year, lets take a look at all the best..

Blogging isn't a case of “If you post it, they will come.” Your role as a blogger doesn't end as soon as you hit Publish. In fact, that’s only the beginning.

TIME’s No. 1 Song of 2012: No, It’s Not ‘Gangnam Style’

Herod. Hitler. Hussein. History is full of notorious baddies — and those are just the H’s we can think of off the top of our heads.

Mattel's highly sought-after American Girl dolls "celebrate girls and all that they can be," according to the company's website, and each comes complete with a personal story line. There's Julie...

2012 shattered weather records around the world. Take a look through our gallery featuring breathtaking albeit terrifying photos of the year's most extreme.

Every so often a person gets fired for reasons that would make even the most no-nonsense boss scratch his head.

Your childhood was a lie. More precisely, it was a series of lies - here are ten surprising facts that'll ruin your childhood memories.

There are some startlingly human traits that turn up in the creatures you'd least expect.

You might not have thought of all you can do with your smartphone. Here are 10 apps with useful functions to help you complete physical-world tasks.

Put your smartphone away, stop shouting 'Freebird' and start enjoying the show already.

Unfortunately, we can't turn you into a genius -- but we can do is teach you all the tricks you need to seem like one.

If you have any tips of your own, don't hesitate to participate!

It turns out some of the programs and websites you use every day are filled with hidden jokes or secret features that prove that programmers are even nerdier than we had assumed.

In many ways the Cold War era in America was a nightmare. In other ways, we're actually worse off now.

Leo, what was going on?

Why is it that you and I and everyone else on the Internet are so convinced the world owes us everything, quickly, of the highest quality, and free? How did we get to be such self-entitled little bastards?

The truth about koalas (and athletes) shows what we already know: Not everything is what it seems to be. There are some fictions we are wiling to accept as fact.

Are we sure she isn't the 44th president?

Be thankful some of these guys lost their hair.

New Yorkers got a look at the future of city living this morning when Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the winning design for 300-square-foot "micro apartments" being built as an affordable housing option for singles.