Cults on TV!
How stereotypes influence our ideas about what is and isn’t legitimate religion.
How the IWW Grew after the Centralia Tragedy
A violent confrontation between the IWW and the American Legion put organized labor on trial, but a hostile federal government didn’t stop the IWW from growing.
In The Gay Cookbook, Domestic Bliss Was Queer
Chef Lou Rand Hogan whipped up well-seasoned wit and served a gay take on home life during the early-1960s craze for camp.
Don’t Cry for Me, North Korea
Western media outlets were obsessed with whether North Koreans were truly sad about Kim Jong-il's death. Why?
Is This a Gay House?
The British aristocrat Horace Walpole's villa Strawberry Hill was said to be evidence of his "degeneracy."
The Campus Underground Press
The 1960s and 70s were a time of activism in the U.S., and therefore a fertile time for campus newspapers and the alternative press.
When Mambo Was King, Its Creators Were Stereotyped
As a style of Afro-Cuban music and dance, mambo was considered "primitive." And not just by white North Americans.
What We’re Reading in 2020
Funk music, floating cities, poetic prose, and a return to the classics.
James Tiptree Jr. and Joanna Russ: Sci-Fi Pen Pals
The two feminist authors corresponded about writing and romance, especially after Tiptree's true identity leaked.
The Private Life of a Cat
Maya Deren was a fringe filmmaker who existed far outside the Hollywood machine, but she often borrowed its tactics to promote herself and her movies.