A Nation of Cats (Sapiens)
by Gideon Lasco
Across Turkey, cats are welcomed into homes, hotels, cafes, and bars, often owned by no one but cared for by many. The deep human-feline bonds go back centuries and cross boundaries of religion, ethnicity, and age.
Who Lives in the Great Salt Lake? (Hakai Magazine)
by Paul Greenberg
The Great Salt Lake is home to incredibly resilient brine shrimp that are a key to the human food supply. You may know them as sea monkeys. Their fate depends on Utah’s use of water.
Remembering the Woolly Dogs of the Northwest (Smithsonian Magazine)
by Alicia Ault
For the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest, woolly dogs were an important part of the community with a crucial spiritual role. Then they went extinct. Now, Coast Salish researchers and other experts are documenting this story, with the help of a 160-year-old pelt.
The Mysterious Writing of Easter Island (Atlas Obscura)
by Colleen Kelly
Hundreds of years ago, the people of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, used a writing system that no one today can read. Scientists now believe that it may predate European contact with the island and be unrelated to any other script on Earth.
Talking Like a Hockey Player (Ars Technica)
by Jennifer Ouellette
People immersed in a subculture may take on specific speech patterns. And, according to one researcher, that helps explain why American-born hockey players often seem to talk like “fake Canadians.”
Why is This Tree Everywhere? (Slate)
by Alex Tey
The London planetree has become the quintessential urban tree of North America. It’s pretty and hardy, and it sequesters carbon like a champ. But some urban planners say we can do better. Birds and bugs may agree.
How to Trick a Bird (Knowable)
by Betsy Mason
Stage magic depends on exploiting quirks of human cognition. But other animals experience the world in different ways. To explore those differences, scientists are performing magic tricks for birds and monkeys.
A Prehistory of Athleisure (Nursing Clio)
by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox
For as long as American women have been exercising and playing sports, they’ve been balancing fashionability and practicality in their attire. But what that looks like sure has changed.
Edward Said and Palestine Today (Literary Hub)
by Alexander Durie
Edward Said’s The Question of Palestine was published in 1979. Today, as the book is reissued in a very different historical moment, Said’s kids talk about his enduring relevance.
Mutual Aid Among the Rickshaw Men (Sapiens)
by Patrick Beckhorn
For migrant rickshaw men in India, being a “good man” means helping families back home—and caring for fellow migrants from the same village, even across religious lines.
Gandhi’s Cloth-Making Radicalism (Aeon)
by Benjamin Studebaker
Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas for reshaping Indian society went far beyond independence. He wanted to bring political power and spiritual development to ordinary people through the power of traditional crafts.
Iceland’s Medieval Whale Hunters (Hakai Magazine)
by Andrew Chapman
In the medieval era, most whale-hunting cultures focused on relatively small cetaceans living close to the shores. Icelanders hunted enormous blue whales that could yield 60 tons of meat. But how? And what did they do with the bones?
How Fish Do Politics (Nautilus)
by Elena Kazamia
Humans are just one of many social creatures. And living in a community means depending on others to help assess situations and take action. So what do fish do when they’re fed misinformation?
Orca Fashion News (Live Science)
by Sascha Pare
In 1987, for reasons humans have only guesses about, orcas off the Washington State coast began wearing dead salmon like hats. Now, the trend is back. Advances in technology in recent decades may, or may not, help scientists figure out what it’s all about.
How to Be a Spy (Literary Hub)
by Elyse Graham
To be a spy in World War II was less glamorous than the era’s novels made it sound—and more dangerous. Rather than carrying fancy gadgets, real-life spies learned handy ways to repurpose everyday items and convince unwitting informants to share secrets.
