Bangalore’s Green Belt Fifty Years On
Or, why the best laid plans of urban design sometimes go awry.
A Brief History of Snowmobiling
Snowmobiles were invented around the same time as wheeled transportation was becoming a robust industry.
How Does the Warming Arctic Impact Plants?
For flowering plants in the Arctic, cold temperatures don't mean death. But warmer temperatures might.
Were Early American Prisons Similar to Today’s?
A correctional officer’s history of 19th century prisons and modern-day parallels. From Sing Sing to suicide watch, torture treads a fine line.
Plant of the Month: Cassava
Cassava can grow in hot climates with little rainfall. It may be the "root crop of the century."
Mesmerizing Labor
The man who introduced mesmerism to the US was a slave-owner from Guadeloupe, where planters were experimenting with “magnetizing” their enslaved people.
Uselessness, Fake Soup, and That One Song
Well-researched stories from Psyche, Atlas Obscura, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
What is in an Ice Core?
Climate science frequently references ice cores, but it's what is in the cores that matters to science and history.
Creating the Musical Canon
When you look at the canon of popular music, who's on the list looks very much like those who made the list.
How Physicians Became Scientists
The introduction of formal peer review to journals aided medical doctors in their quest to bring more scientific rigor to their field.