The US Army as a Slaveholding Institution
Until the Civil War, US Army officers relied on enslaved servants even while serving in “free states.”
12 Poems by Frank O’Hara
Plus his manifesto on Personism and writings about O’Hara by Ted Berrigan, Joseph LeSueur, and Joe Brainard.
Tradition in Turmoil: Sugar Maple and Climate Change
With harvests dependent on the spring freeze-thaw cycle, the maple industry is seeking ways to mitigate damage wrought by a changing climate.
Hocktide: A Medieval Fest of Flirtation and Finances
The springtime holiday of Hocktide not only allowed villagers to cross social boundaries in the name of fun, it helped them raise funds for nonsecular needs.
What Is Isolationism?
The history and politics of an often-maligned foreign policy concept.
Far Out: Why Don’t We Believe in UFOs?
Is it scientific impossibility or simply human ego that stops us from entertaining the idea of extraterrestrial visitation?
The Popularity and Politics of Pedestrianism
The sport of competitive walking touched on social concerns such as debt and poverty, fitness and fame, but it also found support in the temperance movement.
Angels, Gardens, and El Salvador’s Prisons
Well-researched stories from Aeon, The Conversation, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Caitlin D. Wylie on the Hidden Labor of STEM Research
An interview with Caitlin D. Wylie, a social scientist who analyzes “behind-the-science work” to understand how knowledge is produced and who produces it.
Joseph McCarthy in Wheeling, West Virginia: Annotated
Senator Joseph McCarthy built his reputation on fear-mongering, smear campaigns, and falsehoods about government employees and their associates.