Covers of Barcelona, the satirical Argentinian magazine

When Satirical Magazines Confront Real Crises

In Chile and Argentina, satirical publications used humor to expose political crises overlooked by the mainstream press.
At the Mass, 1872,, by Francesco Gioli

A Christian Case for Gossip

When silence allows harm to continue, warning others may become a difficult but necessary moral choice.
Two dill cucumbers. Watercolour painting by a Chinese artist

Cucumber: The Plant That Moves More than You Think

Be it with its curling tendrils or because of its desirable properties, the cucumber is defined by motion: vertical, horizontal, geographical, and digital.
The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869

How The West Was Photographed

Railroad photography helped sell an “empty” American West—carefully framing out the people already living there.
A person playing chess in the 19th century beside a person posing with a telegraph

The First E-Sports? Chess by Telegraph

Telegraph cables let chess clubs stage matches across continents, linking players and spectators in a new kind of long-distance competition.
Mughal ruler Humayun defeating the Afghans before reconquering India, folio from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl, ca. 1590

How Horses Shaped the Mughal Empire

The quest for powerful horses reshaped trade and diplomacy across early modern South Asia.
Leather hides drying on tannery rooftop in Kolkata, india

Caste and Culture in Kolkata’s Chinese Leather Trade

In eastern Kolkata, a Hakka Chinese community carved out an economic niche in leather production amid stigma surrounding purity and caste hierarchy.
Adah Menken

Gender Play in Nineteenth-Century Theater

In the 1800s, women playing tragic leads captivated crowds while critics struggled to reconcile talent with gender norms.
John Steinbeck, 1935.

Returning to Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez

A literary classic doubles as data, helping scientists trace decades of ecological change in the Gulf of California.
Harpo Marx, ca. 1935

Why Lacan Loved Harpo Marx

A surprising encounter between high theory and Hollywood farce reshapes how we think about laughter and desire.