From the poster for Black Girl by Ousmane Sembène, 1966

Ousmane Sembène: Feminism in African Francophone Cinema

Known as “the grandfather of African cinema,” Sembène created powerful female characters who challenged Western notions of gender and sexuality.
Ludwig Van Beethoven's hair

Beethoven’s Hair, Underwater Women, and Future Food

Well-researched stories from Vox, Knowable Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Washington Market, New York, 1872

Feeding a City the Municipal Way

Between 1790 and 1860, New York City’s food markets were public, sustained by active government involvement. What happened?
Saint John the Baptist in Prison Visited by Salome by Guercino

Taking Liberties With Biblical Stories

In the Christian New Testament, Saint John the Baptist and Salome never meet. Why, then, does she appear at the bars of his cell in Guercino’s moody painting?
CNC machine drilling with coolant

Uneven Impacts: The Virtual Water Trade

The virtual water trade reveals significant disparities between water-rich states and their trade partners.

How to Interpret the Meaning of an Image

This week, we practice using our skills of visual analysis and learn how to "read" deliberately constructed images.
A chemist examining a flask of urine

Early Doctors Diagnosed Disease by Looking at Urine

When uroscopy became trendy, it caused a minor scandal within the early medical profession.
Digital illustration of surrealistic faceless human with spiritual thoughts. Made with vector vibrant color gradient geometry forms. Minimalist textured painting on mental, medical and artistic theme.

Mindful March: The Unexpected Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been linked with ethical decision making and avoidance of cognitive biases. Can it lead to better performance at work?
Brown Bears Sitting Together

Celebrate World Bear Day!

The joy and concern we feel on World Bear Day perfectly represents our complicated—and sometimes contradictory—feelings about these massive mammals.
Virginia Woolf, 1927

Virginia Woolf’s Only Play

Based on Woolf's own family, Freshwater was a tongue-in-cheek comedy full of inside jokes, written to entertain members of the Bloomsbury Group.