How Women Crushed on One Another Back in the Day
Same-sex crushes and romantic friendships between college-age women were common throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
An 18th-Century “Sapphist”’s Sexy Garden
The 18th-century "sapphist" gardens of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany were piquant places that expressed same-sex desires.
Dan Rather on Dan Rather
Dan Rather's ruminations on politics and morality feel so 2017. This interview he gave in the '70s lends insight into how seriously he takes journalism.
The Making of the American Diner
Today's diners would surprise a 1940s patron. These restaurants were once vulgar boy’s clubs before becoming today's family-friendly establishments.
The Slave Roots of Square Dancing
Square Dancing's lily-white reputation hides something unexpected: A deep African-American history that's rooted in a legacy of slavery.
How “This Land Is Your Land” Went From Protest Song to Singalong
Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” has lost a bit of its protest oomph—in part because of a decades-long denial of its later verses.
Victorian England Had a Problem With Cloth Piracy
Calico took the newly industrial world by storm. But battles over bolts of fabric shook Britain during the nineteenth century.
The Women’s Magazine That Tried to Stop the Civil War
Godey’s Lady’s Book, one of the most influential American publications of the nineteenth century, tried to halt the Civil War.
The Clash Over Water in Waukesha, Wisconsin
A town that once thrived on tourism around its famed natural springs is seeking water from faraway Lake Michigan.
How Academics Fell In and Out of Love with TV Quiz Shows
In the 1950s, the world went quiz-show crazy. But something was rotten inside Hollywood—the shows were packed with ringers.