Who and What Was a Knocker-Upper?
Pour one out for the people paid to rouse the workers of industrial Britain.
Calculators, Druids, and Electroconvulsive Therapy
Well-researched stories from Undark, Black Perspectives, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Yelp and the Quest for Authentic Cuisines
How do affluent urban diners judge the “authenticity” of an eatery? By relying on certain stereotypes, if their Yelp reviews are anything to go by.
The Sanitary Commission’s Other Agenda
The US Sanitary Commission is credited with saving lives during the Civil War, but its leadership hoped it would be remembered for advancing racialized science.
Bringing Personal Hygiene to France
France’s notorious disregard for washing gradually changed as military authorities and public schools promoted a modern regime of cleanliness.
Ismat Chughtai’s Quilt and Queer Desire
Long before India decriminalized homosexuality—in September 2018—the short story "Lihaaf" sparked outrage and a lawsuit for its depiction of same-sex, intergenerational intimacy.
The Griffin Sisters Helped Build Black Vaudeville
The sisters were not only a singing duo, they were successful businesswomen and advocates for Black-owned enterprises in the entertainment world.
Cochabamba People’s Agreement: Annotated
In April 2010, representatives from 140 countries gathered in Bolivia to outline an explicitly anti-capitalist, decolonial agenda for the sake of the planet.
America’s First Ventriloquist
Richard Potter, the first American-born ventriloquist and stage magician, learned his trade after being kidnapped and abandoned as a child in Great Britain.
“Ghostly” Neutrinos Help Us See Our Milky Way as Never Before
As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery...consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”