The Aral Sea used to be the fourth-largest lake in the world, but thanks to poor water management, the lake rapidly shrank over only a handful of decades—from larger than the entire state of West Virginia to only 10 percent … Read more

Three new books describe far-flung societies — from the Native tribes of North America to the caliphates of Eurasia — that have made war and sustained their conquests. UNC historian Wayne Lee’s new book, Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, … Read more

On the fourth floor of UNC’s Hillsborough Hospital, there’s a rehab gym. ,,, Recently, this treehouse has gone high tech with a new room, called the “makerspace.” It’s about the size of a dorm room, and its walls are lined … Read more

The stories we live have a profound impact on the way we view ourselves, the people around us and the world at large. A new paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that living a “Hero’s … Read more

Marcie Cohen Ferris and Bill Ferris have dedicated their lives and careers to cataloging the folkways and foodways of the American South. The couple, both professor emeriti of UNC-Chapel Hill, have published a number of award-winning and noteworthy books about … Read more

As Americans gather for Thanksgiving feasts, they are paying homage to a meal that took place more than 400 years ago between a group of colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans in Patuxet, the area now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. TIME … Read more

WRAL Investigates bought dozens of pieces of sushi to see if the description on the menu is the same fish you get on your plate. … WRAL Investigates put the samples in the freezer until the fish was delivered to … Read more

Offering a compliment has been shown to benefit both the giver and receiver, but we often hold back because we’re worried about how we’ll come off, said Erica Boothby, a social psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of … Read more

Alexandrea Ravenelle explored the dark side of the freelance economy in her book Hustle and Gig, which looked at the exploitation that many self-employed workers suffered in an emerging sector of the economy. In her new book Side Hustle Safety Net: How … Read more

What does it mean to quit a music genre? That’s what many of Maren Morris’ fans are asking themselves in the wake of the singer’s announcement in a recent Los Angeles Times interview that she is “getting the hell out” … Read more