A koala named Pete from Pappinbarra at The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital on November 29, 2019 in Port Macquarie, Australia

Ecological Surprises From Fires Down Under

The recent Australian 2019-2020 bushfires were devastating for people and fauna. Long term, they may not hurt wildlife and ecosystems as much as expected.
Sunlight and Shadow by Albert Bierstadt

Do We Actually See Shadows?

In a blackout, you do not hear or taste the darkness; you see it. It looks a certain way. On the philosophy of shadows.
An advertisement for snake oil, 1905

Why Do We Fall for Scams?

People want to believe that the person they trust with their money, or their hearts, is telling the truth. The con artist relies on that.
Illustration: Anatomical drawing of abdomen, circa 1900

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anatomical_drawing_of_abdomen,_circa_1900_(5551615776).jpg

Drinking Women, Scientific Art, and Torturing Trees

Well-researched stories from The London Review of Books, Atlas Obscura, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Astronaut Loren J. Shriver, Mission Commander of STS-46, attempts to eat floating sweets on the flight deck of the shuttle Atlantis during its orbit of the earth, August 1992.

Food…in…Space!

A brief history of astronaut food, from nutrition cubes to space salads.
An illustration of Incan ceremonies

How an Incan Nobleman Contested Spanish History

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala left behind a one-of-a-kind object that undermines the crónicas de Indias.
Lazarillo de Tormes and His Blind Master

How Social Upheaval Gave Rise to the Picaresque Novel

How did the arcadian shepherd and chivalric knight-errant, centuries-old fixtures of European literature, give way to this witty rascal, the pícaro?
The cast of the new Gossip GirlThe cast of the new Gossip Girl

Gossip Girls (and Boys)

Researchers found that male and female adolescents may respond differently to gossip or other forms of social aggression.
A rice farmer with a handcart in Pingtung County, Taiwan, circa 1965.

Reclaiming Rice in Taiwan

After World War II, the US ramped up international food aid, both as a Cold War strategy and as a way to distribute surplus products.
Frank P. Zeidler

Race-baiting the Last Big City Socialist

When business interests tried to use red-baiting to take down a socialist mayor of Milwaukee in the Fifties, it didn't work, so they used race-baiting instead.