The Flour War
In eighteenth-century France, the scarcity and price of flour was the base ingredient for what would become one of history’s bloodiest revolutions.
Bundling: An Old Tradition on New Ground
Common in colonial New England, bundling allowed a suitor to spend a night in bed with his sweetheart—while her parents slept in the next room.
Why Interstellar Objects Like ʻOumuamua and Borisov May Hold Clues to Exoplanets
The detection of two celestial interlopers careening through our solar system has scientists eagerly anticipating more.
Two William McKinley Autopsies
The 1901 assassination of US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo revealed the abysmal state of race relations in America.
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers
When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
Woodchucks, Silk, and American Divorce
Well-researched stories from ARTNews, Nautilus, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Chicanx Studies: A Foundational Reading List
The field of Chicanx studies continues to expand, embracing analyses of racialization, gender, sexuality, Indigineity, and trans-ethnic identity.
Bridging The Gap of War: Einstein’s Eclipse
Astronomer Arthur S. Eddington argued that astronomy should be above politics, even when politics leads to world war.
Reviving Chinese Festivals
The government of China has been working to revitalize traditional celebrations that were suppressed after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.
Mark Twain’s Obsession with Joan of Arc
Despite being famous for his witty analyses of the American South, Twain was proudest of the historical fiction he wrote about France’s legendary martyr.