Matzo and Oreos: Keeping Kosher in America
The koshering of America's food industry has mostly gone unnoticed. Yet most people who specifically buy kosher foods are not Jewish.
The 1917 Immigration Act That Presaged Trump’s Muslim Ban
Prohibitive laws like the 1917 Immigration Act barred many Asians from entering America. Cultural fears still determine who "deserves" to migrate.
The Unsolved Case of Ötzi the Iceman
Clues have emerged in a very cold case: the Copper Age killing of Ötzi the Iceman. What do we know about this well-preserved mummy?
How Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White Showed Apartheid to Americans
Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White dedicated her life to photography, including a trip to South Africa during the "dawn of the anti-apartheid era."
Suggested Readings: Regime Change, Renewable Power, and Octopus Genes
Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each ...
Scientists Have Always Been Political
Science has always been political, with questions about who pays for research, and who gets to do it, influencing the type of work that gets done.
How WWI Sparked an Artistic Movement That Transformed Black America
African-American literary works born out of the ashes of World War I went on to spur the bold spirit of resistance of the African-American protest movement.
The Birth of Planned Obsolescence
Before WWII, American businesses began embracing “creative waste”—the idea that throwing things away and buying new ones could fuel a strong economy.
The Turkish Origins of the “Deep State”
The "deep state" idea of a shadowy parallel government, heard much in the news now, seems to be a concept borrowed from the Turkish experience.
How to Talk About Diego Rivera and Mexican Art
Diego Rivera's artwork has always been intimately tied to the culture of his native Mexico, although this was not always seen as a sophisticated choice.