Best Espresso Machines (2026): Six Home Picks Compared
A café espresso shot is a short, concentrated brew pushed through finely ground coffee at roughly nine bars of pressure.
Best Seats for Metallica at Sphere (2026–27): Sections, Snake Pit, Prices, Setlists and Dates
Metallica’s Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere has 14 nights left, from November 5 through March 13, 2027. Which sections show the band and the screen best, what the floor and Snake Pit are like, what tickets cost, the setlists and what to know before show night.
Tesla Cybercab (2026): Where to Ride One, What It Costs, and Can You Buy One?
Tesla’s two-seat Cybercab, with no wheel or pedals, now gives paid rides in Austin, with Dallas next. Here is how to ride one, what trips cost, whether you can buy one, what is inside, and why regulators are asking questions.
Best Air Purifiers (2026): Six Lab-Tested Picks Compared, From $76 to $293
Six air purifiers compared, from the $76 Levoit Core 300-P to the Coway Airmega Mighty2, Wirecutter’s new top pick, with lab test results and Amazon prices.
Northern Lights Colors Explained: Why Auroras Glow Green, Red, Pink and Purple
Green curtains, red skies, pink hems and the purple ribbon called STEVE: each aurora color comes from a particular gas at a particular height. Here is the code, why your phone sees more than you do, and how to catch the next display.
Solid-State EV Batteries in 2026: Which Cars Have Them, and When You Can Buy One
A Mercedes EQS drove 1,205 km on one charge with a solid-state battery, and a $14,000 MG4 wears the label in China. But no car on sale has an all-solid-state battery yet. Here is what semi-solid means, which cars use it, and when the real thing arrives.
Best Seats for the Eagles at Sphere (2026–27): Sections, Prices, Setlist and Dates
The Eagles’ Sphere residency returns November 13 with 14 nights left through January 2027. Which sections show the band and the giant screen best, which seats to skip, what tickets cost, the full setlist and what to know before show night.
Puzzle of the Day: Who Finished Third in the Bike Race?
Five riders in red, blue, green, yellow and purple jerseys just finished a sprint to the line. There were no
Best Cordless Vacuums (2026): Six Picks Compared, From $140 to $650
Six cordless stick vacuums compared, from a $140 Levoit to the Dyson V15 Detect, with expert test results, runtimes and current Amazon prices.
Hōkūleʻa’s 1976 Voyage: How Mau Piailug Found Tahiti by the Stars
Fifty years ago a Hawaiian voyaging canoe sailed about 2,500 miles to Tahiti with no compass, charts or radio, steered by a Micronesian master navigator reading stars, swells and birds. How Mau Piailug did it, what it proved about the first Polynesian voyagers, and the revival it started.
Fu-Go: Japan’s Paper Balloon Bombs and the Picnic in Bly, Oregon
Japan built thousands of hydrogen balloons from paper and potato-root paste and set them loose on the jet stream toward America. How the Fu-Go balloon bombs worked, how the US kept them secret, and the picnic near Bly, Oregon, that ended in the only mainland deaths from enemy action in World War II.
Karl Jansky and the Merry-Go-Round That Heard the Milky Way
A Bell Labs engineer hunting static on transatlantic phone calls built a rotating antenna on Model T wheels and found a faint hiss that kept time with the stars. How Karl Jansky traced it to the center of the Milky Way and started radio astronomy.
Best Carry-On Luggage (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $130 to $729
Seven carry-on suitcases compared, from the $129.99 Samsonite Freeform to the $729 Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential, with expert test results, specs and Amazon prices.
The Pig War: How One Dead Pig Nearly Started a War Between Britain and the US in 1859
In June 1859 an American settler on San Juan Island shot a pig that kept raiding his potatoes. Within weeks, US troops and British warships faced off over a vague line in a treaty. How the Pig War nearly began, and why nobody fired.
Surtsey: The Island That Rose From the Sea in 1963 and Is Still Off-Limits
On November 14, 1963, a fishing crew off Iceland watched a volcano rise out of the sea. The island it built, Surtsey, was closed to all but scientists before the eruption ended, and it has been showing how life colonizes new land ever since.
The 1904 Olympic Marathon: Strychnine, Brandy and the Strangest Race in Olympic History
In St. Louis in 1904, the Olympic marathon was won by a man kept going with strychnine, egg whites and brandy, after the first finisher was caught having ridden in a car. The race official’s own report tells the story.
Puzzle of the Day: Spot 8 Differences at the Farmers’ Market
Fresh apples, bundles of carrots, the last sunflowers of the season and jars of local honey: this market stall has
Neuralink’s Seventh Patient Is Now Driving His Wheelchair With His Mind
Jake Schneider has ALS and Neuralink’s seventh brain implant. He now steers a power wheelchair with his thoughts.
This Week on Aglena: Oct. 26–Nov. 1, 2026
Hello, and welcome to this week’s roundup. This week on Aglena: a horse that seemed to do math, a 5,300-year-old
Best Portable Projectors (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $399 to $900
A portable projector turns any blank wall, bedroom ceiling or backyard sheet into a 100-inch screen, and it packs away
The Niihau Incident: The Zero Pilot Who Crash-Landed on Hawaii’s Forbidden Island
On December 7, 1941, a damaged Japanese fighter came down on Niihau, an island that had not heard about Pearl Harbor. Six days later two men were dead, and the island’s Hawaiians had ended it themselves.
