America’s First Woman Astronomer
Maria Mitchell became famous when she discovered a comet in 1847. She didn't stop there, fighting for education and equality for women in the sciences.
The Complicated Politics of… Refrigerators
When American kitchens started getting high-tech in the 1950s, the refrigerator seemed to alienate and frustrate many men.
The Woman Behind James Tiptree, Jr.
James Tiptree, Jr., was a beloved sci-fi writer known for masculine prose and universal themes. Then her real identity was revealed: Alice Bradley Sheldon.
When FDR Tried to Pack the Courts
Pushing New Deal legislation, FDR proposed that extra justices should be added to the Supreme Court, one for every sitting justice over the age of seventy.
Iris Origo’s Italian War Diary
The marchese's 1939-1940 diary, detailing the months before Italy's armed alliance with Nazi Germany, is now available as A Chill in the Air.
The Odd History of the Adirondacks
The largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi was deemed "Forever Wild" in 1885. But it wasn't exactly created to preserve nature.
The Forgotten Master of the Ghost Story
Vernon Lee was a widely-read writer of 19th-century ghost stories, called the "cleverest woman in Europe." Her life story was pretty fascinating, too.
The Poet Who Wanted to Be Eaten by Vultures
One day in 1971, the hard-drinking Beat poet Lew Welch walked into the woods of Nevada County and disappeared, possibly angling to be eaten by vultures.
Megafauna Memories?
Some folklorists have hypothesized that the mythical beasts and monsters of legend were actually inspired by shadowy collective memories of megafauna.
The River Basin Surveys Preserved American Prehistory
Between 1945 and 1969, archaeologists hurriedly surveyed over 20,000 prehistorical sites before the Mississippi River Basin was flooded by dams.