Coffee beans biodiversity

The Connections Between Coffee and Biodiversity

A new study from the Western Ghats suggests that coffee cultivation does not interfere with bird biodiversity, regardless of what type of bean is grown.
Homelessness in San Francisco

The Partisan Blame Game That Perpetuates Poverty

A sociological explanation for why the Bay's homelessness epidemic is so intractable.
Thames tunnel walk

How the Thames Tunnel Revealed London’s Class Divide

The Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, is still in use 175 years after its long-delayed opening, but you can't shop there anymore.
Astrolabe

The San Zeno Astrolabe Tracked Time by the Stars

The astrolabe was a revolutionary tool for calculating celestial positions and local time. The device's design dates back to Islamic antiquity.
Artificial snow Switzerland

The Real Problem with Artificial Snow

As the climate changes, snowfall in many areas has decreased. As natural snow is replaced with artificial snow, what is the environmental impact?
Alexander The Great mosaic

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.
portrait of abolitionist James Hinds, 1860s

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.
Optimistic woman vocation

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.
Colonial headstone

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.
Mae West Belle of the Nineties

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.