A Spectro-Chrome, c. 1925

Colorful Lights to Cure What Ails You

Between 1920 and the 1960s, tens of thousands of people received treatment with a Spectro-Chrome to address various ailments.
Children with their Indian nanny at St Ann's Well in the spa town of Buxton, Derbyshire, August 1922.

Ayahs Abroad: Colonial Nannies Cross The Empire

South Asian maids and nannies journeyed to Britain by the thousands in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century with returning colonials.
Hesperornis on the shoreline.

A Brief Guide to Birdwatching in the Age of Dinosaurs

Archaeopteryx and Hesperornis should be on the lists of any dino bird watcher.
The Goddess Nekhbet, Temple of Hatshepsut

Vulture Cultures

By turns worshipped and reviled, the bird frequently associated with death has appeared in art works for thousands of years. Here’s a short history.
Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

The Art of Impressionism: A Reading List

The first exhibition of paintings that would come to be described as Impressionism opened in Paris on April 15, 1874.
Charles Boyer showing pocket watch to Ingrid Bergman in a scene from the film 'Gaslight', 1944

Gaslighting, Greek Societies, and the Great Salt Lake

Well-researched stories from Hakai Magazine, Undark, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Taj Mahal, 2007

The Taj Mahal Today

In parallel with the recent shift in political attitudes toward Islamic heritage, India’s most famous monument may need to find a new place in history.
Beryl Markham

Beryl Markham, Warrior of the Skies

The first person to fly solo, non-stop from Europe to North America, Markham lived life by her own rules.
The portrait of Confucius from Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese

Confucius in the European Enlightenment

Many Enlightenment thinkers admired Confucius, leading to a debate over whether classical Chinese philosophy was compatible with Christianity.
Joseph Bologne de Saint-George

Fencer, Violinist, Composer: The Life of Joseph Bologne

As a musician of color during the Ancien Régime and French Revolution, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, lived a life unlike those of his peers.