A Moog synthesizer

The Fear That Synthesizers Would Ruin Music

A German musicologist complained in 1954 that they reminded him of "barking hell-hounds."
Robert Brandom

Robert Brandom, a Philosopher’s Philosopher

Robert Brandom’s A Spirit of Trust, a groundbreaking new book on Hegel, seeks to unite analytic philosophy with continental.
agave

Plant of the Month: Agave

The international popularity of tequila threatens the quantity, health, and biodiversity of all species of agave.
Medieval depiction of Caesarian birth

How Medieval Surgeons Shaped Sex and Gender

Our ideas about surgically “correcting” intersex conditions go back to a shift in the profession of surgery seven centuries ago.
Fire and Rescue personal watch a bushfire as it burns near homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on December 19, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.

2030, Australia Ablaze, and Tricky Knots

Well-researched stories from NPR, The Conversation, and other publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
An unknown paleontologist, 1860

The Dinosaur Bone Wars

1877 was a banner year for American dinosaurs: three major finds in the West turned the region into a "paleontologist's El Dorado."
Peasants Before Their House by Louis Le Nain

Quiet Struggle Means Resistance without Protest

A lone resister is easy to take down, but there is safety in numbers, in conspiracies of silence, in refusals to testify against one's neighbors.
An octopus

Stuck in the Midden with You

A midden is, among other things, a refuse site outside an octopus' home. (Release the Køkkenmødding!)
Charleston Orphan House

Poor Charleston

Letters from desperate mothers to the nation's first public orphanage.
Photograph: Donald Trump addresses his impeachment after learning how the vote in the House was divided during a Merry Christmas Rally at the Kellogg Arena on December 18, 2019 in Battle Creek, Michigan. 

Source: Getty

What Does It Take to Survive Impeachment?

A look at impeachment proceedings in foreign nations sheds light on when a sitting president is likely to remain in office.