12th September 1953: John Kennedy (1917 -1963) and Jacqueline Bouvier (1929 - 1994) pose with their ushers and maids of honor on their wedding day,

The Literal Magic of the Kennedys

Americans have long viewed the Kennedy family as a kind of magical royalty associated with occult notions and conspiracies.
El Aquelarre by Francisco Goya

Accused as a Witch? Sue ’em!

That’s what they did in the Kingdom of Navarre, where some of the victims brought suit against their accusers for defamation and other offenses.
Interior courtyard at the Thian Hock Keng Temple in the Tanjong Pagar area of downtown Singapore, a traditional Taoist temple established in 1839

Debating the Definition of Taoism

Taoism and Hinduism are two different spiritual systems, but one thing they have in common in Singapore is that they’re both very difficult to define.
Currency with nature prints of leaves from 1775 and 1778

The First Green Money: Nature-Printed Currency

Benjamin Franklin used naturalist Joseph Breintnall’s botanic prints of leaves on his paper currency to foil counterfeiters.
A graphical illustration of a man with a wad of cash and an airplane

Are Millionaire Taxes Self-Defeating?

A common argument against increasing taxes on high earners is that the wealthy will simply move out of the city or state with higher taxes.
James Dalton Highway, Alaska.

State Politics and Public Lands Management

Judging by past executive orders, the US president’s newest policies on public lands may turn federal responsibilities over to state or local governments.
A male maratus splendens spider on a stalk of grass.

Tiny Splendid Peacock Spiders

They have the fastest known jump among their kind according to a new study.
An illustration from Aleksandr Volkov’s Wizard of the Emerald City

Twin Curtains: Oz and the USSR

Aleksandr Volkov’s The Wizard of the Emerald City reimagined L. Frank Baum’s classic, imbuing the story with a love of labor for readers in the Eastern bloc.
Pliny the Elder

The Numinous World of Pliny the Elder

As a follower of Stoic philosophy, Pliny used sensory experience to try to understand the divine.
a close-up of a hand selecting a freshly made roti from a stack on a rustic ceramic plate. The warm and natural lighting emphasizes the texture and golden-brown spots on the roti, making it an appealing visual for themes related to traditional cuisine.

Roti, Airborne Life, and Rethinking Disability

Well-researched stories from Public Books, Quanta Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.