Before Rush Limbaugh, There Was Boake Carter
When Boake Carter opened his mouth, he whipped up tempers and tempests. But who was he?
Epidemics as Entertainment
Plagues capture the public imagination in ways that other less terrifying--but more deadly--diseases don't.
The Most Abundant Creature You’ve Never Heard Of
Conodonts are actually older than the oldest previously known vertebrates, making them the earliest known “skeletonized” vertebrates in existence.
Krazy Kat’s Complex Relationship with Race
Behind the slapstick antics in this beloved comic strip simmered ambivalence about color and race.
The Divide in Feminist Ethics on Mothering
In the 1960s, two groups of feminists had very different views about motherhood. Unsurprisingly, race and family played a role.
Why Do Some People Have Curly Hair and Others Straight?
Either environmental or sexual selective pressure began acting on hair after humans began dispersing out of Africa.
The Problem with “Public Charge” Rules
Historically, public charge rules have been a threat to immigrants dismissed as too disabled to be full contributors to the country.
The Mysterious Mana of Speaking
The Austronesian concept of "mana" helps us understand that behind the monolithic "magic" of modern power and authority, there is a fragile human dimension.
The Man behind the “New Man”
Otto Weininger's only book, Sex & Character, is a misogynist, anti-Semitic screed masquerading as philosophy. Yet it was enormously influential in fin-de-siècle Vienna.
From Samhain to Halloween
Exploring the Celtic origins of everyone's favorite harvest holiday celebrating thresholds between life and death.