Cast of left hind foot of Deinonychus antirrhopus

The Origins of the “Dinosaur Renaissance”

John Ostrom’s ideas were part of the so-called Dinosaur Renaissance, a paradigm shift that posited dinosaurs as the warm-blooded ancestors of birds.
Mavis Gallant

Remembering Mavis Gallant

Shaped by her Canadian origins and early work as a journalist, expatriate Gallant used the short story to examine the sociopolitics of post-war Europe.
Edgar Allan Poe

The Post-Millennial Poe, or, Edgar Allan Holmes?

In life, Edgar Allan Poe was best known as a literary critic. Today, he’s best remembered for his disquieting tales...but that may be changing.
Illustration of Skylab with deployed parasol, ca. 1973

Skylab, Sealab, and the Psychology of the Extreme

During the Cold War, small groups of Americans lived together in space and at the bottom of the sea, offering psychologists a unique study opportunity.
A lump of peat used to make whiskey

Why Peat Is a Key Ingredient in Whisky and the Climate Crisis

Approximately 80 percent of Scotch whisky is made using peat as a fuel source for drying barley during the malting process. Is that a problem?
Tantalus

Tantalus, Pac-Man, and Unsated Hungers

What does a violent, ancient Greek myth reveal about our modern addiction to technology and the enduring power of stories?
Leslie F. Stone

Pulp Woman: Leslie F. Stone

Cloaked in an ambiguous pseudonym, Stone was one of the first women to write science fiction for the pulps.
Two dogs at an alpine lake

Dogs, Kings, and David Lynch

Well-researched stories from Slate, Black Perspectives, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A photograph of Peter Kropotkin by Nadar

Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid

Let’s take a closer look at the Russian aristocrat turned anarchist who (literally) wrote the book on mutual aid.
Prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn as she appears in Swan Lake, 1951

Odette vs. Odile: A Tale of Two (but Not Opposing) Swans

The distinction between the leading female characters of Swan Lake—the swan princess and her “black” counterpart—initially wasn’t so sharp.