Alpha. Bravo. Cyrillic.
Free from Russian dictates over language usage and education, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan prepare to embrace Latin lettering. It’s the latest chapter in the region’s fraught history of alphabet reform.
Cabinet of Curiosities
Cairo’s Zabbaleen and Secret Life of Trash
In Egypt's capital, members of an impoverished Coptic population strengthen community ties while making a living as ragpickers.
Plant of the Month
Plant of the Month: Guinea Grass
The West African grass was imported to sustain Caribbean sugar plantations, but it has turned against them, becoming a symbol of resilience and independence.
Media, Democracy
What Makes Us Vote the Way We Do?
According to some political scientists, it's more about group identity than personal interests.
Suggested Readings
Seals, Spy Moms, and Chinese Protest
Well-researched stories from Hakai Magazine, Nursing Clio, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Most Recent
Kidnappers of Color Versus the Cause of Antislavery
Thousands of free-born Black people in the North were kidnapped into slavery through networks that operated as a form of “Reverse Underground Railroad.”
Understanding the Indian Child Welfare Act
The ICWA wasn’t implemented perfectly, but it reversed a centuries-old pattern of removing Native children from their families and their tribes.
HUAC versus Women Strike for Peace
American leftists were hamstrung by the Cold War’s domestic clampdown on communism, but in the 1960s, Women Strike for Peace re-wrote the book of dissent.
Tearing Down Nakagin Capsule Tower
Japanese Metabolists argued that architecture should be adaptable, changing as a city changed. Why, then, is this icon of Metabolism being dismantled?
Cabinet of Curiosities
Cairo’s Zabbaleen and Secret Life of Trash
In Egypt's capital, members of an impoverished Coptic population strengthen community ties while making a living as ragpickers.
Plant of the Month
Plant of the Month: Guinea Grass
The West African grass was imported to sustain Caribbean sugar plantations, but it has turned against them, becoming a symbol of resilience and independence.
Media, Democracy
What Makes Us Vote the Way We Do?
According to some political scientists, it's more about group identity than personal interests.
Suggested Readings
Seals, Spy Moms, and Chinese Protest
Well-researched stories from Hakai Magazine, Nursing Clio, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
