Rachel Carson’s Critics Called Her a Witch
When Silent Spring was published, the response was overtly gendered. Rachel Carson's critics depicted her as hysterical, mystical, and witchy.
W. E. B. Du Bois Fought “Scientific” Racism
Early-twentieth-century intellectual W. E. B. DuBois countered the then-popular idea that African Americans could be scientifically proven to be inferior.
The History of African-American Casting in Ballet
Ballet has been slow to accept African-American dancers in major companies, and those who make it tend to be offered limited roles.
The “Miscegenation” Troll
The term “miscegenation” was coined in an 1864 pamphlet by an anonymous author.
The Free People of Color of Pre-Civil War New Orleans
Before American concepts of race took hold in the newly-acquired Louisiana, early 19th-century New Orleans had large population of free people of color.
Scientists Are Putting Mosquitoes on Human Diet Drugs
Humans and mosquitoes share a surprising amount of genes and have similar hunger controls.
Can Science Fiction Predict the Future of Technology?
Science fiction isn’t limited to predicting tech developments: It’s more broadly concerned with imagining possible futures, or alternative presents.
A Mars Miracle, Medical Racism, and Murderous Humans
Well-researched stories from The New Yorker, Pens and Needles, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Whitewashing American History
One of the National Park Service's first historic preservation projects, the Colonial National Monument, wrote people of color completely out of the story.
Can Wildlife Adapt to Heat Waves?
Heatwaves have led to widespread deaths of animals like big-eyed tarsiers and flying foxes. Is there hope for species like this as temperatures rise?