NASAâs Perseverance rover has picked up what researchers believe is the first evidence of lightning on Mars, placing the red planet alongside Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter as worlds where electrical flashes occur. But Martian lightning works differently from the kind we see during thunderstorms at home. The finding points to a low-energy form of lightning generated not by storm-cloud charge buildups but by collisions between fine dust particles in Marsâ wind-driven dust devils and planet-wide storms. As the powdery regolith becomes electrified, it releases brief âmini-lightningâ events too faint to illuminate the sky yet strong enough to break apart organic molecules. Researchers say these sparks can break apart organic molecules and may help explain why methane seems to vanish so quickly from the Martian atmosphere.
True Spies
Allied With Al-Qaeda
What does it take to turn an Al-Qaeda insider into an ally?
CIA operations officer Doug London is stationed in a remote Middle Eastern post when one name keeps resurfacing: Yousef, a well-educated family man tied to âcharitiesâ that double as Al-Qaeda cover. Traces link him to plots across Eastern Europe and the Balkans, constantly slipping out of town just before bombs go off or cells are rolled up. He isnât a bomb-planter, but a facilitator: the logistics brain who fixes passports, safe houses, and weapons for people who pull the trigger.
With warnings of a significant attack growing louder, CIA headquarters wants Yousef arrested and off the battlefield. Doug argues for something riskier: recruit him. He has 24 hours. Working with the local security service, Doug stages a secret arrest in a disused jail, letting Yousef stew alone in a stifling cell while his imagination does half the work. Then comes the performance. A soft-spoken local officer sets the stage; âMr. Davidâ in a blue suit walks in with a thick file, uses Yousefâs real name, and lays out a stark choice...
What came of the mission? Find out in this weekâs podcast selection, 'Allied With Al-Qaeda'. Join Douglas London as he races to flip a wanted terrorist before the next attack is set in motion!
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Could a volcanic shadow have set the stage for the Black Death?
New research from the University of Cambridge and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe suggests that a burst of volcanic activity in the mid-1300s may have cooled the climate just enough to help usher the Black Death into Europe. Tree-ring records show a string of unusually cold summers preceding the pandemic, while historical accounts describe dim skies, persistent cloudiness, and even darkened lunar eclipses. Together, the clues point to ash and gases from an unidentified eruption, or several, blocking sunlight across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
The timing matters. As temperatures dipped and crops failed, Italian city-states looked to the Black Sea to secure grain. That trade may have carried plague-infected fleas into Europe, igniting an outbreak that eventually killed millions and pushed mortality rates in some regions close to 60%.
Articles
The Spy's Second Act
What does a CIA "spy's spy" do for an encore?
John R. Seeger once led Team Alpha, an eight-man CIA unit that rode into Afghanistan in the weeks after 9/11, working behind enemy lines to track Al-Qaeda and help bring down the Taliban. Before that, heâd already lived several lives: archaeologist, Army paratrooper, linguist, case officer, and division chief of operations, specializing in counterintelligence, insider threats, counterterrorism, and unit leadership.
Seeger finished his Afghanistan tour, returned to the US, and finally retired from the CIA in 2007. Itâs only lately that heâs had time to focus on his new passion: writing. Heâs already a prolific author, with eight books in the Mike 4 series â military thrillers with an intelligence edge. Yet even as he turned to fiction, he stayed close to the craft, serving as a trainer and subject-matter expert for the US military until 2023.
From horses in Afghan mountains to fiction rooted in authentic tradecraft, Seegerâs encore raises a simple question: how much of the field ever really leaves you? Discover more in this SPYSCAPE article.
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In the hills above Peru and Chile, some communities are using Atrapanieblas, âfog catchersâ, to pull clean water straight from the mist. These simple structures resemble oversized fences made of tightly stretched mesh, often of cactus fiber or nylon. When fog rolls through, the microdroplets cling to the net, gather, and drip into a gutter below. From there, the water moves through filters and into storage tanks, supporting drinking, cooking, and small-scale farming.
The design borrows directly from nature. Plants in arid ecosystems survive by capturing moisture from the air, and these 6-by-4-meter frames mimic that talent. In the right conditions, a single fog catcher can provide 200 to 400 liters of water per day without electricity, pumps, or moving parts. In places where rainfall is scarce but fog is abundant, the air itself becomes a resource.
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