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.
The Staples Singers performing at Wattstax Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20, 1972.

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 Gang Busters sound effects team, 1937

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.
Barrels of whiskey are opened and poured into a blending vat below, circa 1940.

Bourbon Country

Examining the ingredients—time, grain, government regulations—that have made bourbon an enduring national favorite.
Portrait of Beatrice Hastings before a door by Amedeo Modigliani

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.
Voting Hands and Ballot Box

Happiness is a Warm Democracy

A greater exposure to democracy leads to a higher level of self-reported happiness.
A person working in a data center

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.
Mt. Ontake spews volcanic ash on September 28, 2014 in Otaki, Japan

After the Volcano Erupts

The catastrophic eruption of Japan’s Ontake-san allowed residents to reconsider and reinvent their relationships to the mountainous landscape.
The video game "Doom 3" is displayed on a computer and game store shelf August 4, 2004 in New York City

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.
Annie Londonderry, 1896

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).