A new survey of 6,400 older Americans finds that looking back, people report peak life satisfaction at age 52 — and the reasons why make a lot of sense once you hear them. Also: a major new study finds that one specific flavor of anxious, neurotic personality is linked to a 35% lower risk of death over 15 years — and the mechanism behind it is genuinely interesting. And the Wall Street Journal spent time with the Hadzabe of Tanzania, one of the last true hunter-gatherer societies on Earth, who are quietly debating whether to join the modern world. The answer, in my opinion, should be no. Plus AI self-replication, Bigfoot sightings in Ohio, a brain-eating amoeba warning, and someone tracking private jets to predict the apocalypse.

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A new study confirms what every teenager already knew: they're not telling their parents about the sketchy stuff they see online, because they're afraid of the freak out that would follow. Also: just one night of bad sleep can spike the exact brain proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease by 25 to 30 percent — and a week of poor sleep makes it worse. And four volunteers at NASA's Johnson Space Center just hit 200 days inside a 1,700 square foot 3D-printed habitat pretending to be on Mars, with 178 days still to go. Plus a hacked robot lawn mower, a Buddhist robot monk, two Florida alligators, and a bear that wanted a pastry.

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A new study finds 37% of Americans have ended a friendship, family relationship, or romantic partnership over political differences — and the rate has accelerated since 2016. Also: a new Allianz retirement study finds 67% of Americans are now more worried about running out of money than about dying, up 10 points in just three years. And a Texas A&M researcher has identified the specific compounds in coffee that explain why it's been linked to longer life and lower disease risk for decades — and it has nothing to do with caffeine. Plus a 28-year-old posing as a high school student, Apophis getting closer, a Wile E. Coyote car crash, and a woman who took poultry protection very seriously.

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A new survey finds the average American with a $79,000 household income would spend $57,000 a year — nearly three-quarters of it — just to feel okay. Also: a TikToker named Hunter Peterson posted a joke video about buying Spirit Airlines after it shut down Saturday, and 125,000 people pledged $88 million in four days. And a major 15-year study of nearly 40,000 older adults finds that eating at least one egg a week is associated with a 27% lower risk of Alzheimer's — and the mechanism actually makes sense this time. Plus a porta-potty explosion, a man whose seizure saved his life, children drawing fake mustaches to bypass age checks, and 64 stolen calves.

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A new survey finds nearly half of Gen X workers are pushing back their retirement dates — and more than half expect to raid their retirement accounts early just to cover near-term costs. Also: rage workouts are having a moment, and the psychology behind using anger as athletic fuel is more interesting than it sounds — and more effective than punching a pillow. And a new study published in PNAS finds that 2024 was the first year in human history that female global fertility levels exceeded male fertility — and the trend is projected to continue through 2100. Plus a painted donkey that escaped a zoo, a dog that shot its owner, a couple that torched a neighbor's drone, and an atmosphere beyond Pluto.

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A new survey of 2,000 Americans finds one in three is currently having an existential crisis — and for Gen Z it's more than half. The top word people used to describe 2026 so far is "stressful." Also: a Paris Brain Institute study of 92 adults finds that dream-like mental experiences can and do happen during confirmed wakefulness — the boundary between dreaming and being awake is far more porous than anyone realized. And Spirit Airlines, 34 years old and bright yellow, shut down Saturday morning after jet fuel prices tied to the Iran war doubled and a government bailout fell apart. Seventeen thousand people are out of work. The Spirit Halloween conversion is already underway. Plus a robot that delayed a Southwest flight, a kid who watched 13,000 YouTube videos during school hours, and an $80,000 mac and cheese scheme.

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A new Gallup poll finds 55% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse — the highest number since 2001, higher even than during the pandemic or the 2008 financial crisis. This is the fifth consecutive year of declining financial confidence, and the only comparable stretch was the Great Recession. Also: a new study finds two-thirds of babies under two watch screens, some for up to eight hours a day — and the research on what that does to developing brains is more nuanced and more concerning than most parents realize. And archaeologists at Pompeii just used AI to reconstruct the face of a man who died fleeing Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 — carrying an oil lamp, a ring, and ten bronze coins. Plus weaponized bees, a skeleton at the bank, GPS-collared possums, and a bird with a grudge.

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A new study finds dreams function as a complex social simulation space — your brain running rehearsals for the challenges it thinks you'll face. Also: Pam Cronrath promised her husband of nearly 60 years a "super wake," and she delivered — a life-size hologram of Bill appeared at his own memorial service, took questions from 200 mourners, and told his wife he loved her one last time. And college students are switching majors in search of AI-proof careers — but here's the problem: nobody actually knows what an AI-proof major is. Plus infrasound and ghost sightings, a pastor with a publishing problem, an orangutan who crossed the road, and someone who used a hair dryer to win a $34,000 weather bet.

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A new NBC News poll finds nearly half of Gen Z would choose to live in the past if they could — and the reasons are more specific and interesting than simple nostalgia. Also: a new wave of surveys confirms what a lot of people already feel — dating has become expensive enough that millions of Americans are going on fewer dates or stopping altogether, and the apps aren't helping. And summer travel costs are up 26% since 2019, jet fuel prices are spiking due to the Iran conflict, and 65% of Americans have already changed their summer plans because of price. Plus kindergarteners naming themselves, a game hunter and some elephants, Americans who might now be Canadian, and a very generous lottery winner.

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A Wall Street Journal survey finds nearly a third of Americans are pregaming before going out to avoid paying $20 for a drink at a bar — and liquor brands are packaging miniature bottles specifically to enable this. Also: a group of 20- and 30-somethings in Washington swapped their smartphones for flip phones for a full month, and the things they rediscovered are more interesting than the detox itself. And MIT just published the first direct evidence that plant seeds can sense sound — specifically, that rice seeds exposed to the sound of rain germinate 30 to 40 percent faster than seeds in identical conditions without it. Plus a US sailor sidelined by a monkey, the Senate's hot rotisserie chicken legislation, a bored arsonist, and a man who gave police the wrong name.

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