A cover design for Annie on My Mind

Queer YA: The Early Decades

While queer YA has exploded over the past decade, it began in the middle of the 20th century, with the first kiss in 1969.
Father Christmas carrying a large Christmas pudding

Merry Christmas from the Wellcome Collection

Enjoy these historical Christmas images from the Wellcome Collection.
A British airship in flight above the British countryside set against a cloudy sky, 1918

Whatever Happened to Airships?

In moving away from fossil fuels, some in aviation are thinking of bringing back helium-assisted flight.
bell hooks

bell hooks

Writer and academic, teacher and activist. Read and share some of her foundational work.
Vintage engraving of The Bench, by William Hogarth. 1758, depicts four judges listening to a case in the Court of Common Pleas.

Does Law Exist to Provide Moral Order?

Is social cohesion possible in plural societies? Philosopher H. L. A. Hart weighed in amid debates on abortion and same-sex relationships.
Garlic Mustard

Plant of the Month: Garlic Mustard

As garlic mustard naturalized in North America, it became a popular plant to forage for impoverished and rural communities.
Louis Armstrong, c. 1945

Floating Cities, Trans History, and Jazz in Ghana

Well-researched stories from Atlas Obscura, The Atlantic, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A sign for the All-Star Bowling Alley in Orangeburg, SC

Desegregating Bowling Alleys

The bowling desegregation movement began during World War II, but wouldn’t end there.
Activists march for missing and murdered Indigenous women at the Women's March California 2019 on January 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Colonial Traffic in Native American Women

Slavery in North America was not an institution of singular evil.
An infinity symbol in water

Destroying “Forever Chemicals” For Good

But will it make a difference for cleaning up pollution?