How Migrant Labor Policies Shaped a Latino Identity
When Puerto Rican and Mexican workers came to the U.S. in large numbers, they faced similar discrimination and bigotry.
The Death of Steve Biko, Revisited
Like the death of George Floyd, the South African activist Steve Biko’s death galvanized a global movement against racism.
Passing for White to Escape Slavery
Passing for white was an intentional strategy that enslaved people used to free themselves from bondage.
Life in the Iron Mills as Fiction of the “Close-Outsider Witness”
Rebecca Harding Davis had no firsthand experience of iron mills. Neither does her nameless narrator.
Noam Chomsky: There’s Reason for Hope
The celebrated linguist and scholar on his new book on global climate change, the mediated reality of Fox News, and the economics of the Green New Deal.
iNaturalist and Crowdsourcing Natural History
The citizen-science app iNaturalist lets you record observations of plants and animals. The data can be used to study biodiversity.
Where Did the Term “Hispanic” Come From?
"Hispanic" as the name of an ethnicity is contested today. But the category arose from a political need for unity.
Fungi, Red Skies, and Simplistic Thinking
Well-researched stories from Catapult, Slate, and more great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Midcentury Women Who Played With Dollhouses
How to sell white, middle-class women on suburban domesticity after World War II? Tantalize them with dollhouse-like models of new cabinets.
Criminal Minds? Try Criminal Bodies
Cesare Lombroso wanted to use science to understand who criminals were. But his ideas about biological "atavism" easily transferred to eugenics and nativism.