Martha Stewart, 2001

America’s Domestic Gurus Are Bad Girls

Why do the pages of shelter magazines for women seem so pristine? The answer is not what you think, according to one scholar.
California Condor in Big Sur

Condor Parthenogenesis, Smartphones, and Whale Talk

Well-researched stories from Gizmodo, Sapiens, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
View of the Pacific Ocean in Point Mugu State Park, Ventura County, CA

How Drought Could Make Sea-Level Rise Worse

Take southern California, for instance.
A portrait of Italian philosopher, writer and politician Niccolo Machiavelli

Machiavelli, Prince of…Democracy?

The other side of the Renaissance man, known today for promoting autocratic power.
Charles Chesnutt

The Ghosts of Slavery in Charles Chesnutt’s Fiction

What begins as a magical escape from the horrors of plantation life soon turns into a spine-chilling testament to slavery’s dehumanizing effects.
An abstract spectrum of colored dots on a black background that cohere together to represent sound waves or a music equalizer.

How to Hear Images and See Sounds

Artists Shannon Finnegan and Andy Slater talk accessibility, transdimensional hearing, alt-text as poetry, sound descriptions, and Instagram captions for McSweeney’s Audio Issue.
A scientist with staring eyes pours liquid from one test tube to another in

The Evolution of the Mad Scientist

The crazed caricature of genius was largely inspired by now-debunked late-Victorian ideas about how species change.
Two sharply dressed women modeling both looks for home and at work from the late 1970's

The History of the Power Suit for Women

As women entered the white-collar world, experts told them to dress like men, without being too threatening.
A Man And Woman Showing Ink-Marked Finger And Voter Card in Calcutta, India

Why Vote? Lessons from Indian Villages

The voters one scholar studied didn't necessarily think they would benefit materially from being on the winning side. But turnout was over 90 percent.
Olivia Rodrigo performs onstage during the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021

Thank You, Tweens, for Your Pop Music Icons

Olivia Rodrigo is only the latest star to emerge from the wonderful world of Disney.