Olga Khazan+

It's Still Personality Change if it's from Medication

And seeking interviewees for my next book!

How Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Personality

Plus, a new book project I'm excited about!

Kash Patel Refuses to Say That Lying to Congress Is a Crime

At a congressional hearing today, the FBI director seemed unafraid of any repercussions and more interested in scoring partisan points that go viral. During a Senate subcommittee hearing today, Democrats tried a variety of avenues to pin down FBI Director Kash Patel on reports about the bureau—about …

The Close, Prolonged Contact Myth

Knowing how a virus spreads is essential to public health, but people keep getting it wrong. A man goes to a birthday party, sits next to someone with hantavirus, catches it, gives it to his wife, and dies. His wife then infects 10 more people at his wake. Another guest at that same birthday party …

Big Brother Is ReTruthing You

Donald Trump is a victim of propaganda as much as he is a manipulator of it. The model of an authoritarian leader that the 20th century instilled in the Western imagination is a master of lies. Big Brother commands a machinery of propaganda that bombards his subjects with relentless projections of …

A Profound Mismatch in Modern Medicine

The “magic bullet” model that doctors are most comfortable with is ill-suited to some of the most disabling conditions they treat today. “You’re the eighth rheumatologist that I’ve seen,” the patient told me. She ticked off her symptoms—pain, fatigue, and what she described as a sense of brain …

How AI Killed a 133-Year-Old Princeton Tradition

The school’s famous Honor Code was no match for chatbot-enabled cheating. In 1876, an editorial in Princeton’s newly founded campus newspaper, The Princetonian, argued against the use of proctors to monitor exams. Proctoring was “a means of bad moral education,” the author wrote. Treat students as …

Spencer Pratt and the Temptations of Populism

The long-shot candidate for L.A. mayor has run an effective campaign. Can he tap into populist energy without alienating Angelenos? While driving around Los Angeles last month, I was shocked to find myself absent-mindedly humming a song from a viral campaign ad from an L.A. mayoral race. In Southern …

The Unhappy Hosts of the World Cup

Cities and states are covering a lot of the costs of this summer’s matches, and have few options for bringing in much revenue. When the United States, Canada, and Mexico bid for the 2026 World Cup back in 2017, they promised free public transportation for ticket holders—just as prior host nations …

What Did Jamaica Do to Deserve This?

Kari Lake, Trump’s pick for ambassador, has a disastrous record. Jamaica is a beautiful island with white beaches; a green, mountainous interior; and, despite its small size, one of the most recognizable cultures in the world. Jamaica has exported music, fashion, and food to the farthest corners of …

The Secret of 'Survivor'

For 50 seasons, the show has gamified the tension at the heart of American life: Are we individuals or a community? There’s a clue to the secret of Survivor less than 10 minutes into the very first episode. It’s not any of the obvious things: the marooning on remote shores, the obstacle-course …

He’s So Random

A software engineer wanted to resist the usual algorithms. So he created his own—and transformed his whole existence. How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers By Stolzoff, Simone Buy Book ​When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you …

The Most Awkward Cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2

The Last Supper makes a conspicuous—and strange—appearance during a gathering of self-styled elites. Picture, if you will, a gathering at Milan Fashion Week, hosted by one of the world’s glossiest magazines and attended by planetary VIPs. The event: a post-show dinner. The mood: celebratory. The …

The Assassin’s Delusion

Violence serves an authoritarian agenda. People keep trying to kill the president. The closest call came in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, when Donald Trump (then a candidate) had his head grazed by a bullet. Other apparent attempts include an incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West …

Trump Isn’t Setting Vance or Rubio Up for the Future

The moves the president is making right now will put all possible successors in the same predicament. Donald Trump loves to pit his advisers and staffers against one another—many aspects of Trump’s persona on The Apprentice may have been manufactured, but not this one. Lately, The New York Times noted …

Putin’s War Comes Home to Moscow

He can no longer hide the consequences from the Russian public. Four years ago, President Vladimir Putin offered Moscow and its business elite a de facto deal: Support my war in Ukraine, and in exchange you won’t have to think about it. In the past week, that deal was broken. Not that Moscow was ever …

Send the Frigates

Despite their anger at Donald Trump, European nations have an interest in defending the freedom of navigation. America’s allies, particularly but not exclusively the Europeans, have very good reasons to be furious with the Trump administration. Quite apart from Donald Trump’s gratuitous insults and …

Trump Has Gone From Unpredictable to Unreliable

Allies and rivals alike are less likely to give the president what he seeks. In July, on the manicured grounds of President Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, the Trump administration struck a trade deal with the European Union. The agreement—centered on a 15 percent tariff on most European …

China Believes America Will Flame Out

Beijing’s geopolitical restraint is all part of a long game. Now that the United States is riven by internal politics, alienating allies, and once again consumed by a war in the Persian Gulf, this seems like an opportune moment for China to wrest the mantle of global leadership. Yet Beijing has …

What Happens When the Tradwife Dream Goes Wrong?

The hit novel Yesteryear seems to be a withering critique of influencers—but is actually more attuned to the corruptions of power. If you scroll down to the bottom of Ballerina Farm’s Instagram page, all the way down, to the point where your browser starts sputtering in protest at the data usage, …

Rock and Roll Faces the Inevitable

Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney are wringing great art and performance out of the relationship between the present and the past. One afternoon during my teenage years, I was listening to Neil Young at high volume when my mother burst into my room to tell me to turn it down. This was a running subject …

I Remember America Before the Measles Vaccine

And I wish Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did too. Lately, I’ve come to notice that the strangest and most terrible pieces of my childhood are roaring back. I was born in 1933, and much of what I remember as a little girl was defined by either the war or what we called, simply, sickness. I myself was blessed …

The 10 Most Interesting Things I Learned About Personality

Happy paperback release month to all who celebrate

Someone Can Find You Cringey But Still Admire You

A conversation with Leslie John about her new book, Revealing, and the power of oversharing

Why You Can Be Surrounded by Friends and Still Feel Lonely

Sonja Lyubomirsky on her new book, "How to Feel Loved"

The Case for Seeing Friendship Like Exercise

When trying to make yourself do something hard, don't think about the beginning. Think about the middle.

How Much Are We Like Our Parents, Really?

A conversation with psychologist Paige Harden about the genetic roots of behavior and personality

The Best Way to Argue About Politics with Your Relatives Is to Not Argue About Politics

The secret to a more peaceful holiday is curiosity

It's Good to Be a Little Stressed

Why experiencing some adversity is better for your mental health than experiencing no adversity

What Separates "Curious Nerds" From Everyone Else

Episode 3 of Why We're Like This, about openness to experiences

Is Conscientiousness Really Declining?

Episode 2 of Why We're Like This, featuring Brent Roberts

Why We're Like This Ep. 1: Shannon Sauer-Zavala on how to be less neurotic

I'm starting a podcast, duh

When You and Your Kid Have Opposite Personalities

My kid doesn't care about external validation. It's all I care about.

Stop Asking Questions

Next time you're trying to make conversation, try making a statement instead

Are Our Personalities Getting Worse?

One the charts that broke the internet last week

5 Tips for Introverts Trying Out Extroversion

How to "get out there" and "talk to people" when you really just want to "stay in bed" and "stay in bed some more"

How to Boost Your Curiosity

Plus, a very special announcement!

How to Actually Be Comfortable with Uncertainty

A new book explores how to actually do this thing anxious people are constantly told to do

Healing from Trauma Through Meditation

One of the most encouraging stories about the power of mindfulness that I've come across

You Have It In You

How personality change can help you achieve the things you thought you couldn't

Why Personality Matters

Your personality traits can affect your life more than how much money you have and how smart you are

Are Liberals Better Writers?

Not necessarily, but they do tend to have one trait that correlates with good writing