An illustration of Agaricus muscarius from Illustrations of British mycology by Anna Maria Hussey

The Fungi-Mad Ladies of Long Ago

In mycology’s early days, botanical drawing was, for some women, a calling. Their mushroom renderings were key to establishing this new field.
Lord Byron's Maid of Athens

When Lord Byron Tried to Buy a Twelve-Year-Old Girl

The English poet fell in love with Teresa Makri while he was traveling in Greece and subsequently tried to purchase her from her mother.

Rain Scent, Tricky Genes, and the Mysterious X

Well-researched stories from Quanta Magazine, The Conversation, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Gourna Mosque

Hassan Fathy and New Gourna

Fathy rejected European ideas of modernism, arguing that Egypt could draw on its own regional histories to develop a national aesthetic.
1700, Craftsmen in the building industry, including timber felling, stonemasonry and roofing.

When Being an Unemployed Teenager was a Crime

Seventeenth-century teenagers faced criminalization for refusing to take on jobs as live-in farm workers, but many pursued their interests despite the threat.
Burial mound in Moundsville, West Virginia

Native Origin Stories As Tools of Conquest

In the nineteenth century, the Euro-American “Lost Tribes of Israel” theory was one of the most popular explanations for the existence of Indigenous peoples.
From the cover of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, 2006

The Caricature Who Couldn’t Appear on American Born Chinese

The television adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel called for significant changes to the character of Chin-Kee.
An Illustration from Leila; or, The Island

What if Robinson Crusoe was a Girl?

In nineteenth-century England, stranding a (fictitious) girl on an island made a good argument for imperialism.
soldier using tablet computer hands closeup pnk background pixelated neural network concept

As Militaries Adopt AI, Hype Becomes a Weapon

Few things provoke quite the same amount of anxiety as the effect AI could have on warfare.
Circa 1565, Native Americans cure meat for the coming winter.

Spanish Colonists were Desperate for European Food

Spanish colonists in the Americas were terrified that their essential humors would change if they ate local food.