The Origins of the Mug Shot
US police departments began taking photographs of people they arrested in the 1850s.
The Myth of Manifest Destiny
Not everyone in the nineteenth century was on board with expanding the territory of the US from coast to coast.
Policing Intersex Americans’ Sex and Gender
Assigning one sex to people with ambiguous genitalia has a long history in medicine and law.
Free Will, Birth Control, and Coffee Jelly
Well-researched stories from The Guardian, Nursing Clio, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Dogs of North America
Dogs were prolific hunters and warm companions for northeastern Native peoples like the Mi'kmaq.
The Newsletter Boom, 300 Years before Substack
Some journalists are turning to newsletters to get their work out. But they're not hand-copying them onto folded paper, like people did in the 1600s.
How to Dress for Dystopia
Some nineteenth-century novelists predicted horrible futures, with perfectly horrible clothing to match.
Brain Implants, Pirates, and Pretty Birds
Well-researched stories from The New Yorker, Psyche, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Fun with Naming Decades in History
Whether the 2020s will roar remains to be seen, but people have been coming up with nicknames for decades since the Elegant (18)80s.
Van Gogh, Breathing Plastic, and the Music of Struggle
Well-researched stories from The New York Times, Black Perspectives, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.