Seeing America in 1900
Posters and postcards showcasing unique destinations and sights in the United States helped homogenize the tourist landscape of the early twentieth century.
How Wattstax Ushered in a New Era of Black Art
Organized in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts uprising, the music festival showed that something powerful was happening in the Black community.
The Rise and Fall of “True Crime” Radio Dramas
Depictions of poor, non-white victims and informants led working-class and rural listeners to turn against the genre.
Bourbon Country
Examining the ingredients—time, grain, government regulations—that have made bourbon an enduring national favorite.
Beatrice Hastings: The Forgotten Modernist
Marginalized in early histories of Modernist literature, Hastings left a mark on one of the most influential literary magazines of the early twentieth century.
Happiness is a Warm Democracy
A greater exposure to democracy leads to a higher level of self-reported happiness.
Cloud Workers, Speculative Biology, and Navajo Archives
Well-researched stories from Aeon, Public Books, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
After the Volcano Erupts
The catastrophic eruption of Japan’s Ontake-san allowed residents to reconsider and reinvent their relationships to the mountainous landscape.
Roger Ebert vs. Video Games
The film critic’s unconsidered observation about Doom touched off a firestorm that continues to burn for gamers and digital media critics.
The Hunt for the Massachusetts “Wild Man”
In a tale with as many false identities as supposed crimes, investigative reporter Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky gets her man (maybe).