Electrical Fashions
From the light-bulb dress to galvanic belts, electrified clothing offered a way to experience and conquer a mysterious and vigorous force.
The Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns
The lives and roles of African-descended women who joined predominantly white Catholic convents was deliberately hidden by congregational historians.
Grand Illusions
By the time L. Frank Baum introduced the world to Dorothy and the gang, he’d already made his name as a shop window dresser par excellence.
The Living Newspaper Speaks
Scripted from front-page news, the Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspaper plays were part entertainment, part protest, and entirely educational.
The New Oceanography: More Remote and More Inclusive
The days of celebrity oceanographers romancing the deep are gone, and maybe that’s a good thing.
Buffalo Music, the End of Smallpox, and Unnamed Species
Well-researched stories from Black Perspectives, Open Mind, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Women, Men, and Classical Music
As more women embraced music as a profession, more men became worried that the world of the orchestra was losing its masculinity.
Professional Running: the Nineteenth Century’s Dirtiest Sport
American racers earned a reputation for deception, and Cuckoo Collins led the pack with an outsize talent for cheating.
Can We Cool Warming Cities?
The new, hotter normal requires urban planners and city governments to consider heat hazards when creating climate action plans.
OK Recruiter: The Legion is Coming
Anxieties over the abduction of young men into the French Foreign Legion after WWII reflected West Germany’s concerns about the state of their nation.