Well-researched stories from The Cut, Longreads, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

Pop culture has made Anne Frank into an icon, but one scholar notes that she was a terrified child trapped and killed by war, and should be seen as such.

An archaeologist explores how the division of upper- and lower-class cuisine may have developed in France more than 2,000 years ago.

Research suggests that memories may alter the brain's architecture, forming new synapses and strengthening existing ones.

In 79 C.E., Mt. Vesuvius covered Pompeii with ash and pumice, preserving the remains of people trying to escape. Researchers have made a haunting new find.

Asian American detectives played by actors Anna May Wong and Keye Luke had a minor but notable place in 1930s and 40s Hollywood.

In Regency England, a novel cost about $100. Subscription-based circulating libraries became a way for women of modest means to gain knowledge.

The first criminal conviction based on fingerprint evidence took place in Argentina on 1892, thanks to a police official inspired by eugenics.

Centuries before the computer, whimsical automata pushed the uncanny boundary between human and machine.

A new exhibit of silhouette artists surfaces Moses Williams, a former slave who created thousands of beautiful works of art but never got credit for them.