HT

The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction, and a Search for Relief

Tom Zeller Jr.

Science & engineering

The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction, and a Search for Relief

By Tom Zeller Jr., managing editor of

Harper Collins · 2025

Undark , published by the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT From blinding migraines to severe headache disorders known as "clusters," chronic head pain affects 40 percent of the population, many of them suffering in silence. Finally, "The Headache" reveals the science behind a group of disorders that is as much a curse as a cultural punchline, and leads to key insights into the nature of pain itself. Guided by his own decades-long struggle with cluster headaches, Zeller's journey into headache science is at once intimate and panoramic.

From Summer 2026 recommended reading from MIT (MIT News). Cover image via Google Books.