The Snowy Winter that Devastated Colonial New England
For eleven days in February and March 1717, New England was hit with four major snowstorms. The devastation struck some as a sign from God.
The Disappearance of Japan’s “Third Gender”
Gender roles in Edo Japan recognized an in-between position for young men, called Wakashu, that was erased as Japan westernized.
Food and Culture
Food is complicated. That creation you love from The Great British Baking Show? It's been the subject of arguments over culture, identity, and copyright.
Holiday Supply Chain Issues of Ancient Rome
Hey, at least we’re not trying to track down frankincense and myrrh.
Black Spartacus, Great Books, and bell hooks
Well-researched stories from Hyperallergic, Aeon, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Charity Scams of Yore
Between the 1850s and 1940s, a charity scam worked a collection circuit of Evangelical Christians in least five hundred towns across eighty countries.
Ms. Magazine’s Tricky Relationship with Advertising
On the fiftieth anniversary of Ms. Magazine, a look back at how the publication managed advertising demands while maintaining its founding ethos.
Women in Science Textbooks
A team of scholars examined the seven most popular ecology textbooks. Guess what they didn't find?
Trinity: Real Hero of The Matrix?
While Neo may be the One, he’s not the character who gets the action going in the first film—that’s Trinity.
In History, The Past is the Present is the Future
If the past is so all terribly bad, then aren’t we lucky in the present?