Photograph: Amphibians of La Escalera Region, Southeastern Venezuela

Source: WIkimedia Commons

Why the History of Science Should Matter to Scientists

Two historians consider the field of taxonomy to ask what history can provide science at the bench level.
A postcard advertising Rev. Dr. Bow Weevil, a Rooster Channel Jumper

How Black CB Radio Users Created an Audible Community

CB radio was portrayed as a mostly white enthusiasm in its heyday, but Black CB users were active as early as 1959.
Carl Sagan holding a globe model of the planet Mars, 1970s.

Should We Go to Mars? Carl Sagan Had Thoughts

It'd be "a step more significant than the colonization of land by our amphibian ancestors some 500 million years ago." But Sagan had reservations.
L'Envoûteuse (The Sorceress) by Georges Merle, 1883

Feminism’s Hidden Spiritual Side

Sometimes the pursuit of gender equality requires a little witchcraft.
An illustration of elderberry

Plant of the Month: Elderberry

The recent entrance of elderberry into mainstream success is marked by an increasing popular desire to engage with traditional, “natural” remedies.
A man with a ham radio

Ham Radio and Gender Politics

During its heyday in the 1950s, ham radio was predominantly a hobby for middle-class men, based in suburban homes.
A 19th century illustration of mushrooms

Black Brooklyn, Fascinating Fungi, and a New AI

Well-researched stories from BK Reader, The Guardian, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A still from Dune, 2021

The Ecological Prescience of Dune

Frank Herbert’s novel isn't just about space messiahs, giant sandworms, and trippy space drugs. At its core, the sci-fi epic is about ecology.
a passenger on the London Underground, reading D H Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'

Would You Let Your Servant Read This Book?

How the ban on D. H. Lawrence's book Lady Chatterley's Lover was reversed.
A Young Student at His Desk: Melancholy by Pieter Codde, 1633

The Anatomy of Melancholy at 400: Still Good Advice

Scholars! Feeling blue? Read on.