Martina Navratilova

Homophobia in Women’s Sports

Ever since women began to publicly play sports in the late nineteenth century, female athletes have been seen as threats and subjected to suspicion.
Omega Nebula (M17)

The Bold Future of the Outer Space Treaty

With President Trump calling for a “Space Force” and private enterprise increasingly invested in space, what of the dream of international peace?
Maria Mitchell

America’s First Woman Astronomer

Maria Mitchell became famous when she discovered a comet in 1847. She didn't stop there, fighting for education and equality for women in the sciences.
fruit fly

New Study Finds Insects Speak in Different “Dialects”

Different fruit flies species can learn each other’s language to warn against parasitic wasps.
Colorful tabs marking pages in a book

Meat Allergies, McCarthyism, and World Leadership

Well-researched stories from the Conversation, Atlas Obscura, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Bart Roberts pirate

The Pirate Creed

Examining the 18th-century social contract of Captain Bartholomew Roberts and his men shows just how organized and codified pirate societies could be.
Horse skull

The Horse Skulls Hidden in the Dance Floors of Ireland

Old houses in Ireland often have horse skulls buried beneath the floors, but folklorists and archaeologists disagree on exactly why.
During late twilight in the Baobab trees

Africa’s Mighty Baobabs

Sub-Saharan Africa's iconic baobab trees are experiencing die-offs at an alarming rate. What makes these distinctive trees so unique?
Jane Austen Sanditon

What Exactly Is Jane Austen’s Sanditon?

An unfinished, fragmentary Austen novel is being adapted for television. Can we ever know what Austen meant for this book to eventually become?
aerial view of beach with people

Why Europeans Have Such Long Summer Vacations

In the 1920s, politicians saw workers’ time off as a way to mold society, encouraging workers to engage in politics and patriotism during their time off.