Workmen at Federal Telegraph smoothing two castings for 80-ton magnets.

Vacuum Tube Valley 

Silicon Valley’s first high-tech enterprise, Federal Telegraph Co., provided communications for naval ships and radio stations at far-flung US imperial bases.
People gather at the Federal Reserve building to call on financial institutions to divest from fossil fuels on the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy on October 29, 2021 in New York City.

Divest or Invest? A Climate Change Question

Divestment from fossil fuel corporations is a common call of climate activists, but divesting could be counterproductive to efforts combating climate change.
Belize Cityscape with Lighthouse and Caribbean Sea

Belize: On the Way to Somewhere

After declaring independence from Great Britain in 1981, the Central American nation directed itself down a path to tourism and transformation.
Dramatic skies over the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Central American Volcanoes Offer Clues to Earth’s Geological Evolution

Along 1,100 kilometers, from Mexico to Costa Rica, lies the Central American volcanic arc, where the variety of magma types make for a geological paradise.
A woman sitting on a fence, books in her left hand while thumbing a lift with her right hand, on a country road, United States, circa 1955.

When Hitchhiking was Wholesome

In the 1930s, hitchhiking was viewed as an opportunity for generosity on the part of the driver and a way to practice good manners on the part of the rider.
A railroad worker enjoys a sandwich and bottle of milk during his lunch break, circa 1950

Mother’s—and Others’—Milk

Said to bestow strength and beauty, to purify body and soul, and to yield success and happiness, milk’s image is as adulterated as the liquid itself.
Mao Tse-tung facing Nikita Khrushchev during the Russian leader's 1957 visit to Peking

A Messy Divorce: The Sino-Soviet Split

The ideological disagreements between two nations shattered the idea of monolithic communism and re-arranged the chessboard of the Cold War.
Map of the Louisiana Purchase Territory, 1903

The Actual Louisiana Purchase Price

The $15 million price tag of the Louisiana Territory has been described as one of the greatest real estate bargains ever. But what did that actually buy?
An illustration of a brain surrounded by moving hammers, representing a migraine headache

Migraines, Genghis Khan’s World, and Indian Dance

Well-researched stories from Black Perspectives, Nursing Clio, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
“The Obscene M.D.” Colored lithograph. Morality of Modern Medicine Mongers. British College of Health, 1852.

Putting an End to Obscene Quackery

When medical professionals joined anti-vice campaigners to censor publications about sex in the 1800s, they found themselves wielding a double-edged sword.