What Happened to the Bones of the American Bison?
The near-extinction of the bison sparked an industry that left almost nothing of the animals behind.
How Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Imagined Ancient Rome
The Victorian painter drew on archaeology and ancient texts to create richly detailed scenes of love and excess.
The Debate Over Pictures in Science
Botanical illustrations helped bring science to new audiences—but not every scientist welcomed the change.
Life Inside Icelandic Turf Houses
Grass roofs may look enchanting today, but living beneath them was another story.
What Was Sewer Socialism?
Milwaukee mayor Daniel Hoan believed the best argument for socialism was a city government that worked.
The Rise and Fall of the Public Sandbox
A nineteenth-century experiment in children's play helped reshape American cities—and later fell out of favor.
The Meaning Behind Philippine Crucifixions
An anthropologist examines the sacred vows that inspire some Filipino Catholics to reenact Christ's Passion each Holy Week.
Six Stories with First-Person Narrators
Distinctive voices and unforgettable perspectives, by Danielle Evans, Jamil Jan Kochai, Catherine Niu, Thomas Bernhard, Christine Schutt, and Michael Deagler.
The Hidden Grief of American Musicals
Musicology professor Jake Johnson argues that beneath the bright songs and happy endings of midcentury musicals lay the grief and anxieties of postwar America.
Rudyard Kipling’s Buddhism
Long read as an imperial novel, Kim also reflects Britain's changing ideas about Buddhist thought and spiritual practice.