The acceptance of mesmerism in colonial Bengal depended on the public performance of Western medicine couched in the wonders of a supposed “native” magic.

Cuzco’s Potato Park conserves biodiversity and strengthens food sovereignty, all while emphasizing respect for this important and charismatic crop.

A ballot measure aimed at overturning California’s 1963 Fair Housing Act revealed some serious divisions within the Episcopal Church.

The West African grass was imported to sustain Caribbean sugar plantations, but it has turned against them, becoming a symbol of resilience and independence.

Environmentally oriented films from the classical era of Hollywood animation delivered powerful messages about the negative consequences of technological progress.

Climate activist attacks on works by van Gogh, Vermeer, and other art world titans are the latest in a tradition of destruction that hearkens to the early Christian zealots.

In Egypt's capital, members of an impoverished Coptic population strengthen community ties while making a living as ragpickers.

Johnny Cash wasn't the only superstar to play in prisons. Music, initially allowed as worship, came to be seen as a rockin' tool of rehabilitation.

Well-researched stories from Slate, Aeon, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

How humans have acquired, used, and assigned cultural value to spices, from sage to cinnamon, chili pepper to salt.