Brain Implants, Pirates, and Pretty Birds
Well-researched stories from The New Yorker, Psyche, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
How a Fake Supergroup Mocked the Real Thing
The Masked Marauders were the cockamamie creation of a bored rock critic. They still sold 100,000 albums.
Poetry from the Trenches of WWI
Tragically killed in action during the Battle of Arras in 1917, Edward Thomas was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The Tragicomedy of Johanna the Super Whale
How a beached cetacean triggered one whale of a controversy.
Is Your Favorite Tree an Invasive Species?
Some superstar trees in the US are actually invasive to their ecosystems. Blossoming cherry trees, for example.
The Haiku of Richard Wright
As he lay bedridden with dysentery, the author wrote an astonishing number of haiku. What inspired him?
The Whole Earth Catalog, Where Counterculture Met Cyberculture
Long before Facebook or Twitter, an L.L. Bean-style catalog for hippies inspired the creation of one of the world’s first social networks.
When Paid Applauders Ruled the Paris Opera House
Professional applauders, collectively known as the “claque,” helped mold the tastes of an uncertain audience.
Fun with Naming Decades in History
Whether the 2020s will roar remains to be seen, but people have been coming up with nicknames for decades since the Elegant (18)80s.
The Heretical Origins of the Sonnet
The lyrical poetic form’s origins can be traced back earlier than Petrarch.