Tantalus, Pac-Man, and Unsated Hungers
What does a violent, ancient Greek myth reveal about our modern addiction to technology and the enduring power of stories?
Pulp Woman: Leslie F. Stone
Cloaked in an ambiguous pseudonym, Stone was one of the first women to write science fiction for the pulps.
Dogs, Kings, and David Lynch
Well-researched stories from Slate, Black Perspectives, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid
Let’s take a closer look at the Russian aristocrat turned anarchist who (literally) wrote the book on mutual aid.
Odette vs. Odile: A Tale of Two (but Not Opposing) Swans
The distinction between the leading female characters of Swan Lake—the swan princess and her “black” counterpart—initially wasn’t so sharp.
E. P. Thompson and the American Working Class
Published in 1963, Thompson’s influential The Making of the English Working Class quickly led to questions about the nature of the American working class.
The Mysterious Madame Montour
Montour presented herself as a cultural intermediary between Native Americans and whites in colonial America. But who was she?
Celebrating Black History Month
JSTOR Daily editors pick their favorite stories for Black History Month.
The Murder Behind the George Polk Awards for Journalism
The murder of American journalist George Polk in Greece remains unsolved more than seventy-five years later.
Fish Addiction: An Ancient Greek Paranoia
An obsession with eating fish mapped onto all sorts of social anxieties, from gluttony and gambling problems to wasteful spending and licentiousness.