Benin royal shrine head, between 15th century and 16th century

The Benin Bronzes and the Cultural History of Museums

What an 1897 exhibition at the British Museum can tell us about how African artworks were perceived in an era of imperialism.
Wonder Bread

Reliving the Wonder Years of Wonder Bread

This story is as enriching as the added nutrients in the legendary white bread.
Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu

Chien-Shiung Wu, the First Lady of Physics 

Chien-Shiung Wu disproved a fundamental law of physics—a stunning achievement that helped earn her male colleagues (but not her) a Nobel Prize.
The cover band "Piss"

How Tribute Bands Celebrate Music History

They're not just cheese! For some people, seeing a band play note-for-note covers of classic songs goes beyond nostalgia.
A view of part of the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim on January 28, 2020 in Maale Adumim, West Bank.

Settlements and the Israel-Palestine Conflict: Background Reading

Scholarship about Israeli settlement in occupied Palestinian territories provides historical context for recent violence in the region.
A person undergoing a lie detector test

The Truth about Lying

You can’t spot a liar just by looking, but psychologists are zeroing in on methods that might actually work.
A recumbent bicycle in 1935

Who Killed the Recumbent Bicycle?

How a dominant technology became viewed as the only option, with no need for better-designed competitors.
A virus in droplets of water

Airborne Viruses, Summer School, and Richard Wright

Well-researched stories from Wired, Vox, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Attack and take of the Crête-à-Pierrot (4 - march 24, 1802). Original illustration by Auguste Raffet

Sergei Eisenstein and the Haitian Revolution

Why was the legendary Soviet filmmaker rebuffed in his vision of putting history's most consequential slave revolt on screen?
A barricade in the Paris Commune, March 18, 1871

The Fancy Concerts of the Paris Commune

To the barricades! And then...to the opera!