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Fernando Pessoa, 1914

“The Poet Is a Man Who Feigns”

Portuguese modernist Fernando Pessoa channeled a grand, glorious chorus of writers—heteronyms, he called them—robust inventions of his unique imagination.

Read Before You Go

View of the Rock of Gibraltar as seen from the Sierra Carbonera Mountains of Cadiz, Spain

Gibraltar: Where Two Worlds Meet, the Monkeys Roam

Home to the genetically unique Barbary macaques, Gibraltar serves up an intriguing mix of European cultures to residents and tourists alike.

The Where We Were

Weston Havens House

Searching for Queer Spaces

The dominant heteroview of architectural history means we may lose our queer spaces and their histories before we even know they exist.

Suggested Readings

Great Chocolate, Emotional Capitalism, and Goat Teeth

Well-researched stories from Smithsonian Magazine, Sapiens, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

Most Recent

Mathilde “Missy” de Morny

The Cross-Dressing Superstar of the Belle Époque

Mathilde de Morny's commitment to a masculine aesthetic and a non-traditional lifestyle in nineteenth-century France challenged the boundaries of gender identity.
Deep Jet Streams in Jupiter's Atmosphere

Could You Stand on the Surface of Jupiter? Exploring the Enigmatic Outer Planets

The outer planets’ clouds hide the weirdness within.
A Hawaiian postcard, 1962

Consuming Hawai‘i’s Golden People

With statehood in 1959 came “Aloha Spirit” tourism, turning Hawai‘i’s ethnic diversity into a commodity that benefited both business and US foreign policy.
Prison Work Crew c. 1929

Race, Prison, and the Thirteenth Amendment

Critiques of the Thirteenth Amendment have roots in a long history of activists who understood the imprisonment of Black people as a type of slavery.

More Stories

Read Before You Go

View of the Rock of Gibraltar as seen from the Sierra Carbonera Mountains of Cadiz, Spain

Gibraltar: Where Two Worlds Meet, the Monkeys Roam

Home to the genetically unique Barbary macaques, Gibraltar serves up an intriguing mix of European cultures to residents and tourists alike.

The Where We Were

Weston Havens House

Searching for Queer Spaces

The dominant heteroview of architectural history means we may lose our queer spaces and their histories before we even know they exist.

Suggested Readings

Great Chocolate, Emotional Capitalism, and Goat Teeth

Well-researched stories from Smithsonian Magazine, Sapiens, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

Long Reads

William Henry Fox Talbot, by John Moffat, 1864

The Daguerreotype’s Famous. Why Not the Calotype?

William Henry Fox Talbot’s obsession with protecting his pioneering photographic process doomed his reputation and reduced his legacy to historical footnote.
Three covers from Venus Magazine

From the Black Queer South to the World

Across its twelve-year lifespan, Atlanta-based Venus magazine brought southern voices to the larger Black queer print media network.
Ismat Chughtai

Ismat Chughtai’s Quilt and Queer Desire

Long before India decriminalized homosexuality—in September 2018—the short story "Lihaaf" sparked outrage and a lawsuit for its depiction of same-sex, intergenerational intimacy.
An 18th Century pornographic cartoon featuring Marie Antoinette and the great French General and politician Lafayette, c. 1790

No Joke

Using humor to mask and normalize hatred and bigotry has a long, ugly history.

Scientists have three theories about why people and animals eat dirt.

The Question of Geophagy: Why Eat Dirt?

Produce is offered for sale at a grocery store on October 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.

The Price of Plenty: Should Food Be Cheap?

The supermarket revolution made food more affordable and accessible than ever. But do the hidden costs of food feed into our illusions of justice and progress?
Handsome young adult man standing next to his electric vehicle and using his smart phone while his car is plugged into the charging station

EV Cars: Can We Electrify Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?

The transition to personal electric vehicles in the United States is a cornerstone of the plan to decarbonize transportation. But will it work?
Evo Morales speaking at a press conference at the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, Cochabamba, Bolivia, 2010

Cochabamba People’s Agreement: Annotated

In April 2010, representatives from 140 countries gathered in Bolivia to outline an explicitly anti-capitalist, decolonial agenda for the sake of the planet.