Iran: Creativity in the Aftermath of Uprising

Pamela Karimi’s new book examines how Iran’s “Women, Art, Freedom” protest movement has influenced the country’s artists and their work.
A black and white drawing: In a ballroom, in the foreground, sitting on an ottoman, a young woman is seen from behind. Behind her, seen from the front but in shadow, is the hero of the work (Berlioz). He is standing in black coat with his left arm extended and his right hand on his heart. Hangings are on the right and the left, raised on the right by a kiss. In the background, under the whiteness of the chandelier, the whirlwind of the ball.

The Literary Inspirations for Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique

The creative works on which Hector Berlioz drew when writing his macabre and revolutionary symphony were fantastic indeed.
Paul Goldschmidt #48 of the New York Yankees at bat with a torpedo bat against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on March 27, 2025 in New York City.

Torpedo Bats, Magnetic Animals, and Challenging Physics

Well-researched stories from Knowable Magazine, NPR, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Eames House, Case Study House #8, Chautauqua Drive, Pacific Palisades, California

A Close Partnership: Ray and Charles Eames

The Eameses worked together across many fields, but their house in the Pacific Palisades remains the most celebrated example of their collaborative designs.
Lakshmi Sahgal

Recruiting Warrior Queens for the Rani of Jhansi Regiment

Why did so many plantation workers in Burma, Malaya, and Singapore rush to join the all-woman Rani of Jhansi regiment of the Indian National Army?
Woman in Leopard Outfit With Woman in Blue Outfit

Lesbians and the Lavender Scare

Lesbian relationships among government workers were seen as a threat to national security in the 1950s. But what constituted a lesbian relationship was an open question.
A unicorn, a squirrel and a mouse. Cut-out engravings pasted onto paper

The Undying Unicorn

What role could a mythical animal play in our lives—centuries after its existence came into question?
Leigh Hunt by Benjamin Robert Haydon

Leigh Hunt, the Unstoppable Critic

Convicted and imprisoned for libeling the Prince Regent, Hunt capitalized on his incarceration by turning his prison cell into a newsroom and grand salon.
Set of school teachers stand at the blackboard and explains the material. Hand drawn illustration.

This One Number on a Form Can Reduce Gender Inequality

Reducing the gap between quantitative evaluation scores for male and female instructors may be as simple as changing a single number.
Court in session, Freedmen's Bureau offices, Richmond, Virginia, summer 1866

A Short Course in Justice: the Freedmen’s Bureau Courts

Freedmen’s Bureau courts provided a forum for newly emancipated people in the “uncertain legal landscape” of the defeated Confederacy.