Video Games, Vegetables, and Black Home Schoolers
Well-researched stories from Wired, Aeon, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Summer of Love Wasn’t All Peace and Hippies
Articles in the underground press capture what's missing from our romanticized memory of that fateful season.
Stokely Carmichael, Radical Teacher
The civil rights leader who changed his name to Kwame Ture encouraged students in the Mississippi Freedom Schools to think critically.
Smoking Banana Peels to Get High Was Briefly a Thing
But it didn't work. The rumor, spread by the underground press in 1967, probably led to many disappointed hippies.
What Does It Mean to Call Helen Keller a Fraud?
A TikTok trend is only the most recent example of how people often question the abilities of marginalized groups.
When Tornadoes Strike at Night
Injuries and fatalities tend to be higher if people are asleep.
The Mediums Who Helped Kick-Start the Oil Industry
Apparently some people communed with spirits to locate the first underground oil reserves.
The Anatomical Machines of Naples’ Alchemist Prince
Rumor had it that these machines were once the Prince’s servants, whom he murdered and transformed into anatomical displays. Scholars showed otherwise.
James Baldwin and the FBI
The author was monitored for his political activities, but also for being gay. The surveillance took a toll on him.
The Soap Bubble Trope
Throughout the history of philosophy, literature, art, and science, people have been fascinated with the shimmering surfaces of soap bubbles.