The sun in an orange sky

How Do Scientists Define a Heat Wave?

It seems that every summer brings record temperatures. But there's more to a heat wave than daytime highs.
Copepod

The Little Plankton That Could

Arguably the world's most abundant animal, calanoid copepods can leap like whoa Nelly. And check out their enigmatic embryos!
Studio photograph of Floating gloved hand holding purse on pink background.

Shoplifting, for Fun and Profit

"Hoisting" at the professional level could bring a sense of pride, along with the relief of avoiding grueling domestic work.
Maurice Papon, 1958

The “Stone Face” of Racism

On October 17, 1961, Parisian police attacked a group of Algerians. The event would be lost to French history until a Nazi collaborator was exposed.
Figurine: The Eros terracotta figurine from Tel Kedesh, front and back views 

Source: P. Lanyi; courtesy Sharon Herbert and Andrea Berlin, Tel Kedesh Excavations.

The Archaeological Mystery of Tel Kedesh

Was a well-preserved set of game pieces and other childhood items buried by a young woman before she got married?
Bobolink

Restoring Native Grasslands to Help Birds

Grassland birds, such as the prairie chicken, plover, and bobolink, need a complex environment of varying structure, area, and grass types.
Baptism of Lydia by Marie Ellenrieder, 1861

Women’s Search for Women Leaders in the Early Church

Some nineteenth-century women writers argued that the first Christians included women who were close to Paul—and maybe apostles themselves.
A person in African clothing with New York City in the background

The “Social Distance” between Africa and African-Americans

American popular culture inhibits a close relationship between African-Americans and the African continent.
1885-86 Cuban Giants

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.
Psilocybe Cubensis

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.