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December 2015

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Features

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Peforming Arts: Bill Hader and Fred Armisen

The “SNL” veterans behind the sly new series “Documentary Now!” add a layer of authenticity to the art of sending up nonfiction films

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Physical Sciences: Alan Stern

The scientist behind NASA’s New Horizons mission gave cheering earthlings their first close-up view of Pluto

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Education: Françoise Mouly

The amazing tale of a determined art director who harnessed the powers of the greatest illustrators around the world to blow kids' minds

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Technology: Rana el Kaliouby

An engineer's passion for decoding facial expressions is set to change the way we interact with our devices–and each other

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History: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Composer, lyricist and performer, he wows Broadway audiences and upends U.S. history with his dazzlingly fresh hip-hop Hamilton

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Youth: Lilianna Zyszkowski

At age 11, she designed a new life-saving device to help people track their medication. That was just the beginning

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Social Progress: Theaster Gates

An artist's creative approach to revitalizing a crumbling Chicago neighborhood offers new hope for America's beleaguered cities

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Snap Judgment

A better mousetrap has long been the holy grail of American ingenuity

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Visual Arts: Zoe Crosher and Shamim Momin

A wildly creative art project transforms a classic American eyesore into an inspiring, 2,400-mile-long national narrative

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Natural Sciences: Rudolph Tanzi and Doo Yeon Kim

Boston researchers have invented a revolutionary new tool to study the mysteries of Alzheimer's disease and counter the coming epidemic of dementia

Departments

Discussion

Reader responses to our November issue

Phenomena

Tabula Rosa

A new archive adds depth to the story of the civil rights heroine

Phenomena

Waste Land

A photographer conjures the specter of environmental ruin

Phenomena

Mother and Child

A venerable symbol of human love, as you've never seen it before

Quakers with a Vengeance

Ron Howard's new film of "In the Heart of the Sea" captures the greed and blood lust of 1800s Nantucket

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