Madame Bovary illustration

What Madame Bovary Revealed About the Freedom of the Press

Gustave Flaubert was put on trial for obscenity. Why didn't he fight government censorship harder?
Night Before Christmas

10 Classic Christmas Stories

We've gathered up some of our favorite literary takes on Christmas.
Jane Austen sketch

Jane Austen and the Value of Flaws

Jane Austen is known for self-assured heroines and love stories. But she also wrote a lot about the importance of being wrong.
Blackfoot Albatross chick

The Strange Tale of the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program

In the 1960s, over seventy scientists and graduate students traveled to U.S. outlying islands as part of the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program.
James Mattis

How Trump’s Generals May Change Washington

President-elect Donald Trump formally named Marine ex-General James Mattis his nominee for Secretary of Defense, following his pick ...
Keeley Cure ad

Inside a Nineteenth-Century Quest to End Addiction

In 1880, Dr. Leslie E. Keeley promised a cure for the disease of drunkenness. The community he developed influenced our understanding of treating addiction.
Santa at chimney

What Santa Claus Looks Like

Where does the figure of Santa Claus come from? Turns out the answer is not "the North Pole." And he's not just about Christianity, either.
Catholic school building

School Choice Since 1800

Donald Trump is putting forward a plan to massively increase the use of public money to pay students’ ...
woman on laptop

Full Disclosure: Why We Say Too Much When We Write Online

The internet is an emotional vampire. Scroll through your latest social network updates—or the headlines on Medium and ...
Extra Credit Suggested Readings from JSTOR Daily Editors

Suggested Readings: Dinosaur Feathers, Filthy Showerheads, and the American Dream

Extra Credit: Our pick of stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.