Cyanea Pohaku: The Plant Discovered Right Before Extinction
Cyanea pohaku, the extinction of which can be traced to human interventions in the environment, was gone before we had a chance to really study it.
Freddy Krueger, Folkloric Monster
Many aspects of Freddy Krueger's backstory and actions in A Nightmare on Elm Street echo portrayals of the folkloric bogeyman who targets children.
To Find a New World, Watch How a Planet Dances with Its Star
Finding a tiny planet around bright stars dozens or hundreds of light-years from Earth is extremely difficult.
AI and the Creative Process: Part Three
The multifaceted nature of creativity subverts the assumption it’s a human endeavor exclusively—meaning we might need to radically re-think the definition of “art.”
Autopsy of a Saint
In the late thirteenth century, followers of the Italian abbess Clare of Montefalco dissected her heart in search of a crucifix.
AI and the Creative Process: Part Two
Though technological innovation has always influenced considerations of art—think of Duchamp’s controversial urinal—the constant throughout is human touch.
Bride of Frankenstein
Drawn from the margins of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, the cinematic Bride of Frankenstein is never just one thing, and she never goes away.
AI and the Creative Process: Part One
How does generative artificial intelligence upend conventional understandings of who is and what makes for a true artist?
Osage Nation, Chinese Exams, and Dead Spiders
Well-researched stories from Aeon, CrimeReads, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Sex and the Single Witch
On witch-hunting and the pursuit of sexual knowledge in early-modern England.