When Virginia Woolf Wore Blackface
In February 1910, Virginia Woolf, her brother, and some and friends pulled a prank known to history as the Dreadnought Hoax.
Will Optimistic Stories Get People to Care About Nature?
Research shows that negative messaging is not the most effective way forward.
Was Christine Jorgensen the Caitlyn Jenner of the 1950s?
“What is femininity anyway?” Jenner writes in her new book, The Secrets of My Life. Perhaps the famous trans woman Christine Jorgensen knew.
Marguerite Duras on Her Remarkable Mother
Noted novelist and screenwriter Marguerite Duras on how her fictional mothers are all really her own (complicated, difficult, inimitable) mother.
The Many Different Annes of Green Gables
Anne Shirley, created almost 100 years ago, has been reimagined countless times. Why do we still love Lucy Maud Montgomery's plucky orphan?
Our Lady of Political Anxiety
From Our Lady of Fatima to the 1949 Virgin Mary sighting in Wisconsin, what do Marian sightings reveal about our political anxieties?
How Wrigley Chewed Its Way to Gum Greatness
William Wrigley, Jr. started off as a soap salesman and became a prodigy of consumerism. He sold Americans chewing gum with claims of health benefits.
Why Don’t We Consider Fish Worth Saving?
Until recently, Americans did not generally consider fish to be wildlife. As a result, conservation measures for them got a late start.
The FBI Goes to the Movies
In its hunt for communists in Hollywood, the FBI criticized the 1946 classic It's "A Wonderful Life" as subversive propaganda.
Wyoming’s War on Wolves
Gray wolves in Wyoming recently lost their protected status. What will become of a species burdened by myths about its "fierce and furious" nature?