Well-researched stories from Ars Technica, Big Think, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

In ancient Mesopotamia, many medical disorders were attributed to ghosts, including mental problems faced by men who had spent years at war.

How justified are recent claims that China has been buying significant quantities of debt to undermine the sovereignty of African nations?

We can thank the postal service for establishing the foundations of the American tradition of communications confidentiality

The mui tsai custom, which the British saw as a Chinese practice, relied on connections made across the multiracial landscape of colonial Malaya.

Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick explores the limits of the Stalinist system through the biography of a marginal figure, one Anastasia Emelianovna Egorova.

Advertising went from being an embarrassing activity to a legitimate part of every company’s business plans—despite scant evidence that it worked.

In 1875, Fred Harvey had an idea for improving dining on passenger rail lines. He changed the face of food service in the West forever.

MeerKAT has emerged as a beacon of innovation and opportunity on the African continent.

Pragmatism, not faith, drove Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the call for the founding of the new Islamic state of Pakistan.