The Other Alexander the Great
Stories emerged in the centuries after Alexander the Great’s death. They revolved around Alexander's failures, not his victories. The portrait that emerges is strangely poignant.
The White Carpetbagger Who Died Trying to Protect African-Americans’ Civil Rights
James Hinds was assassinated for his beliefs, and today is largely forgotten. He stood up for African-American civil rights during the Reconstruction, provoking the KKK's ire.
The Spiritual Side of Vocation
Over the centuries, the idea of vocation has evolved to such a degree that it now encompasses any occupation which satisfies a personal calling.
Funerals Once Included Swag
In eighteenth-century New England, funeral attendees went home with funeral tokens–usually a pair of gloves or a ring that declared their sorrow.
The End of American Film Censorship
The Hays Code kept Hollywood on a short leash until the Supreme Court decided in 1952 that films were protected by the First Amendment.
Why Didn’t the Rodney King Video Lead to a Conviction?
The grainy pictures speak for themselves. Or so thought many Americans who watched the video of the March 3rd, 1991, beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
Running On Rice Husks—How One Entrepreneur Brought Electricity to His Village
In the rural Indian province of Bihar, Husk Power Systems is converting leftover rice husks into biofuel. Now they're building mini-power plants around the country, and expanding into Tanzania.
Get Out as Fugue of Double Meanings
It’s said that the best jokes, like the best mysteries, are ones where the punchline is contained in the set-up. Jordan Peele's Get Out offers a sinister reworking of this maxim.
How American Slavery Echoed Russian Serfdom
Russian serfdom and American slavery ended within two years of each other; the defenders of these systems of bondage surprisingly shared many of the same arguments.
Suggested Readings: “Crisis Actors,” Curling, and Day Drinking
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