Well-researched stories from Atlas Obscura, Politico, and other publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

Formal education in language and music is important for children, but as one scholar found, so is their own play involving gesture, slang, and pop songs.

"Acting presidential" can mean fulfilling expectations that have been shaped by TV and the movies.

Will the District of Columbia ever get its own star on the American flag? It's been an uphill journey so far.

These love songs from the Bowling Green State University Sheet Music Collection make the perfect gift. Plus, the covers are gorgeous.

Moss, a Black government employee with activist experience, was hauled in front of Congress on suspicion of being a Communist.

In 1898, a North Carolina newspaper cartoonist weaponized white fears and tropes of Black predation to stoke a coup d'etat.

Profiles of Betye Saar, Krista Franklin, Miles Davis, Basquiat, Kanye West, Faith Ringgold and more.

As the first salaried Black musician at a major studio, he was a leader in shaping the sound of movies—though he was often uncredited.

Long overlooked in histories of the West, African-American rodeo stars also faced discrimination and erasure in that sport, too.