Rare earth elements are used in virtually all electronics, and mining them is a messy business.

The rebellious culture of the Beat Generation was coopted into fodder for a marketable lifestyle.

Deaccessioning old works can be a complicated and fraught process. But even museums have to spring-clean now and then.

A brief history of the codpiece, that mysterious garment favored by 16th-century gents who just may have been covering up their cases of syphilis.

A century ago, the Flexner Report led to the closure of 75% of U.S. medical schools. It still explains a lot about today’s unequal access to healthcare.

A Curious Reader asks: When and why did parking become monetized?

People love the idea of a machine that tells us who to trust. But the historical analog of the online lie detector also didn't work.

The "Rest Cure" for women is notorious. But the "West Cure" for men, though little known today, is a fundamental part of American mythology.

Americans expect our jobs to provide us with not just money but fulfillment. For many, YouTube represents exactly that promise.

In the early days of fertility treatments, some doctors theorized that women’s unconscious hatred of their husbands kept them from conceiving.