On Feb. 7, I’ll have a live online conversation with one of my favorite thinkers, philosopher/novelist Rebecca Goldstein, about her brilliant, timely new book “The Mattering Instinct.”

Some lucky souls have a lot, others nothing. A trip to India forced me to reflect on this persistent feature of existence. Should we calmly accept it, as Buddha suggested, or do something about it, as Marx urged? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A trip to India rubs my face in a fundamental limit of knowledge. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A frothy flick and melancholy short story inspire a New Year's resolution: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

The New Yorker's Rachel Aviv reports that neurologist/author Oliver Sacks made stuff up. Here's my reaction: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

We're all Thanatoids now. My take on Pynchon's novel "Vineland," which inspired Anderson's film "One Battle After Another." johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I just pitched my end-of-war idea to an international group called "Elders4Peace." Pardon the image, but I want to remind viewers what war is. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My pal Alex Wellerstein previews his much-anticipated book on Truman and the Bomb, which goes on sale Dec. 9. I predict great things for this book, just ordered my copy. doomsdaymachines.net/p/the-most-a...

If you chant "desire" over and over, will you gain control over it? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I just re-read "The Waste Land," because I was curious to see if Eliot's century-old poem has anything to tell us in 2025. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Time for my annual Thanksgiving guilt trip, in which I try to make white Americans feel bad for what their ancestors did to Native Americans. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I just gave a talk to my school's physics department about Hawking's 1981 prediction that physics would soon wrap things up. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I spend lots of time sitting on my ass staring out the window. I try to think through the implications of doing nothing in this column: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Just as scientists need paradigms to get anywhere, so each of us needs a personal paradigm, also called a "self," to navigate life. Is it possible to live without a personal paradigm? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A conference at my school makes me feel better, almost against my will, about where AI is headed: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Silicon Valley's Singularity cult used to make me smile. Now it scares me. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Philosopher Dave "Hard Problem" Chalmers is the keynote speaker at a colloquium on art and AI at my school Saturday. www.eventbrite.com/e/synthetic-...

Humans aren't exceptional. We're arrogant apes. by @jhorganism.bsky.social www.realclearscience.com/2025/10/21/t...

A new book has me brooding over the malignant arrogance of Trump and his sycophants. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I denounce the many worlds theory as "bullshit," and yet part of me suspects it's true. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"Is War Inevitable?" I just chimed in during a debate over this question on the excellent NPR show "Open to Debate." opentodebate.org/debate/is-wa...

Wed. Oct. 8 at 1 pm EST, I'm hosting a zoom talk by Adam Becker on his timely book "More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity." Open to all, zoom link: stevens.zoom.us/j/93759076283

I think a certain subset of people who follow me will be interested in this. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be invited to a publicity event with the authors of an Intelligent Design blockbuster, read this.

I spent last weekend at "Rat Fest," a gathering of folks into Karl Popper, David Deutsch and "critical rationalism." Here's my take. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Physicist David Deutsch, a proponent of the many worlds theory and critical rationalism, has ardent fans. Here's my take on his book "The Beginning of Infinity." johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I just had lunch with the authors of "God, The Science, The Evidence," which was a huge bestseller in France and is now being released in the US. Here's what happened at the lunch. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A lecture on the origins of culture ended up feeling like an act of resistance. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

For 25 cents, a therapist/philosopher gives me advice on how to be chill in this terrible time. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reality seems weirder and weirder lately, and not in a good way. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

You don’t have to dig deep to find irony in New Jersey. Nuggets of irony lie on the ground, you can scoop them up with a shovel. From my latest column: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

You know how your dog, when you point in the direction of the ball, stares at your finger, confused? That's how some people react to poetry. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reading "Paterson," the book-length William Carlos Williams poem, makes me wonder: What is poetry for? And: Should I write an epic poem about Ho-Ho-Hoboken? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"History will judge TAKs, Trump-ass-kissers, to be far more deranged than Trump-bashers like me (unless historians all become TAKs and we descend into a new dark age)." From johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

How can I bash Trump for bashing science when I bash science too? Doesn't that make me a hypocrite? johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Seeing science from an historical perspective makes me, Mr. End of Science, even gloomier about science's prospects. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

I was an ironic Broncos fan, but I still felt bad when they lost the 1987 Superbowl. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

"Irony" gets a rap rap, but I can't help but see the world ironically: johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My thoughts on the 80th anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Thanks Bill.

My pal Alex "Doomsday" Wellerstein, a connoisseur of weirdness, reports on an especially weird thing he did recently. doomsdaymachines.net/p/wasteland-...

I woke up wondering what to do today, and I ended up writing about free will, enlightenment, utopia, tech bros, the purpose of life, yada yada. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

A chat between friends about quantum mechanics? I like it.

The time seems right for a look at Solzhenitsyn's Gulag autofiction, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

My doctor keeps urging me to get a PSA test, which has been proven to do more harm than good.

Articles in NY Times and New Yorker overstate benefits of colonoscopies and other cancer screens. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Even by the standards of his day, Thomas Jefferson was appallingly hypocritical. Some thoughts for Independence Day. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

On waves, rhythms and endings. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Reading "To the Lighthouse" prepared me for "Waves." It's a strange book about the strangeness of existence.

Years ago, during an acid trip, I stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and its surface was covered with runes that shape-shifted too fast for me to decipher. That's how Virginia Woolf's "The Waves" makes me feel. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...

Virginia Woolf's strange, beautiful book "The Waves" rocked me. johnhorgan.org/cross-check/...