Minerva Parker Nichols beside the New Century Club building she designed in Philadelphia

(Re)discovering Minerva Parker Nichols, Architect

The first American woman to establish an independent architectural practice, Minerva Parker Nichols built an unprecedented career in Philadelphia.
Simon Miles

Simon Miles on Superpowers and Serendipity

An interview with historian of US foreign policy and diplomacy Simon Miles, who finds that surprises in the archives can lead to the most compelling projects.
Cross Reference image

What’s That in My Glass? It’s Cross Reference!

Grab a cheeseboard and pour a soft, fruity red to help you solve this month’s puzzle.
Illustration from a poster of the first issue stamp celebrating the Mendez v. Westminster School District case

Mendez v. Westminster and Mexican American Desegregation

International relations and foreign influence helped end legal segregation of Mexican American students in California after World War II.
Cher

Cher’s Vocoder Is the Sound of Both Y2K and Camp

Released on the global stage by Cher, the vocoder effect speaks for the millennium and for queer subculture.
A Soviet poster from 1919

Convincing Peasants to Fly in the Soviet Union

With air-minded films, poems, and demonstrations, Soviet leaders sought to lift peasants out of their “backward” lives and into the world of the modern proletariat.
Photo: Bruce Lee and Maria Yi in a scene from the Kung Fu film Fist Of Fury in 1971

Source: Getty

The Legacy of Bruce Lee’s Sex Life

Lee’s untimely death in 1973 sparked an argument between his widow and his girlfriend over his libido that played out publicly in international media.
Aboriginal slaves and prisoners on Rottnest Island, c. 1883 or 1910

How Forced Labor Built Western Australia

The nineteenth-century colonial economy of Western Australia depended on unfree labor, whether from indentured workers, convicts, or Indigenous people.
Sandhill Cranes

How Farmers Can Help Rescue Water-Loving Birds

Cranes, sandpipers, ducks, geese and many other waterbirds have lost essential rest stops along their seasonal migration routes. Bird-friendly agriculture can assist in filling the gaps.
William Merritt Chase with Parsons School of Design students

William Merritt Chase, the Accidental Ally

Painter William Merritt Chase opened an art school for a new generation of women, teaching them how to draw as well as how to advocate for themselves.