Music and Gender in Medieval Islamic Court
As Islam spread across the Arabian peninsula and the Mesopotamian region, it changed the relationship between gender and musicianship.
Who Was Jesus’s Grandma?
Canonical scripture never mentions the parents of the Virgin Mary, but the body of St. Anne was vital to Christianity in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The Birth of the Soviet Union and the Death of the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution promised—and for a time delivered—freedom to the peoples of the Tsarist Empire. That freedom ended with the creation of the USSR.
How Muppets Add Meaning to a Mass Media Christmas
The Muppet Christmas Carol works hard to get people to engage with Charles Dickens, but its real success is becoming part of the holiday itself.
Mistletoe, Deep Talk, and Nuclear Fusion
Well-researched stories from The Verge, Knowable Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Christmastime in 1960s Japan
In the years following World War II, the Japanese people looked to Santa Claus as a symbol of not just kindness and beneficence, but of modernity.
What’s a Swastika Doing on the Cover of a 1916 Newspaper?
Changes in printing press technology and the history of the symbol may explain its presence in the Wyoming State Prison newspaper, J-A-B-S.
The Adventurous Life and Mysterious Death of Frank Lenz
In 1892, the master cyclist set out to tour the world on wheels. A few months later, he disappeared, never to be heard from again. What happened to Frank Lenz?
Wanting to Believe In Rainmakers
A form of entertainment and outgrowth of desperation, self-styled rainmakers allowed the powerless people of the Great Plains to seemingly take action.
Onna-Bugeisha, the Female Samurai Warriors of Feudal Japan
In 1868 a group of female samurai took part in the fierce Battle of Aizu for the very soul of Japan.