Roots and leaves

Why the Belowground Ecosystem Matters

Trees get all the credit. But for biodiversity, look down, too.
The Spiritualist gif

How to Summon Spirits

The Spiritualist, a newspaper published from 1869-1882, is filled with tales of supernatural phenomena and tips for communicating with the dead.
A protester at the Global Climate Strike, December 6, 2019

Coping with Climate Anxiety

A psychologist suggests ways of giving young people hope for the future of the planet—and themselves.
Painting at Museo Regional de Palmillas, Yanga Veracruz

Mexico’s First Liberated City Commemorates Its Founding

The City of Yanga was founded after a group of enslaved Africans, led by Gaspar Yanga, rebelled against colonial rule.
Artocarpus heterophyllus

Plant of the Month: Jackfruit

The newly hot alternative to meat has a long history.
Detail from a French print from 1793that uses the Liberty Cap as a motif of the First Republic.

The Rise and Fall of the Liberty Cap

What happened to the revolutionary headgear that symbolized freedom from enslavement? Meet the sectional politics of the early republic.
George P Wilbur holds a knife in a scene from the film 'Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers', 1988.

Upsides of Horror, Census Trouble, and Unmanly Drinking

Well-researched stories from Aeon, Nursing Clio, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Photograph: Still from  "Only Murders in the Building"

Source: Hulu

Why Mystery Fiction Is So Engaging

Tracking down the killer appeal of the hit show Only Murders in the Building.
Poster promoting a circa-1960s theatrical reissue of the 1931 film Dracula.

Do Vampires Really Exist?

And how would we know? Let's ask the Enlightenment.
Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, an illustration of a poem by Wang Wei

Wang Wei, Poet of Buddhist Emptiness

Focusing almost exclusively on nature, the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei expressed the philosophy of the Chan school.