Integrating Baseball, before Jackie Robinson
Black players were banned from Major League Baseball during the Jim Crow era. Other players walked the color line—gently.
The Nice Married Couple Who Inspired People to ’Shroom
In the 1950s, Gordon and Valentina Wasson encountered magic mushrooms. Then they wouldn't stop talking about them.
City Wildlife, Social Mitochondria, and Consumer Identity
Well-researched stories from Quanta, Scientific American, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
When Statutory Rape Laws Led to Forced Marriages
In early 20th-century New York, men accused of "ruining" women under eighteen could avoid prosecution by marrying them.
The Theory Journal: Still Trendy after All These Years?
A wave of academic periodicals devoted to theory started appearing in the 1970s. Criticism wasn't far behind.
How Women Fought Misogyny in the Underground Press
Men dominated the underground papers of the 1960s. Feminist journalists like Robin Morgan and Sheila Ryan called them on their sexism.
How Teenage Girls Invented Fandom
They were mocked for their obsession with movies. But the fan culture they constructed help build Hollywood.
The Bitter Truth About Bitters
A bottle of bitters from about 1918 had significant amounts of alcohol and lead—and not a trace of the supposed active ingredient.
Vintage Circus Photos from the Sanger Circus Collection
In Victorian England, the circus appealed across an otherwise class-divided society, its audiences ranging from poor peddlers to prestigious public figures.
Soil Health Can Positively Affect Farm Revenue
In a case study from Italy, researchers found that biodiverse soil had good economic results for farms.