Plant of the Month: Guava
Often classified as an invasive species, guava ignites a longstanding, transnational battle over foreign invaders and local customs.
Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Intersectional Feminism
Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw broke new ground by showing how women of color were left out of feminist and anti-racist discourse.
Plant of the Month: Peony
Peony's effectiveness as an ancient cure translated into a tool of statecraft in the eighteenth century.
This Is How They Wiped Themselves in Ancient Rome
A very gross but extremely informative look at the archaeology of toilet hygiene.
Before Vaccines, Variolation Was Seriously Trendy
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is credited with popularizing variolation among the aristocracy in England.
The Arsenic Cake of Madame Lafarge
The first trial to use forensic toxicology electrified France in 1840 with the tale of a bad marriage and poisoned innards.
The Victorian Tea “Infomercial”
By the 19th century, tea was the British national beverage, and "tea histories" were a form of imperial propaganda.
Shirley Chisholm: Sisterhood Is Complicated
A 1974 interview on feminism and politics with the first Black major-party candidate for president.
Plant of the Month: The Dragon Tree
Dragon's blood is all the rage now, but where does the scarlet resin come from?
All You Need Is Live
The very first international TV simulcast was 1967's Our World, which featured performers from around the globe—including the Beatles.