An Elberta peach from Georgia, 1901

The Georgia Peach: A Labor History

The peach industry represented a new, scientifically driven economy for Georgia, but it also depended on the rhythms and racial stereotypes of cotton farming.
A briefcase with a pirate flag symbol

Modern Piracy: Arbitration as Plunder

In a world of globalized trade, an industry of piratical lawyers has arisen to help transnational corporations seize the assets of supposedly sovereign states.
Little island full of money

Islands in the Cash Stream 

Tiny island states, usually former British colonies, have been re-colonized by global finance and now depend on “archipelago capitalism” for survival.
Students hold space at the Pro-Palestinian "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 29, 2024 in New York City.

Why Call for Divestment?

Students are calling for their universities to divest from companies involved in the manufacturing of arms used in Gaza. How effective is this strategy?
An 1890s advertising poster showing a woman in fancy clothes (partially vaguely influenced by 16th- and 17th-century styles) drinking Coke

Who Took the Cocaine Out of Coca-Cola?

The medical profession saw nothing wrong with offering a cocaine-laced cola to white, middle-class consumers. Selling it to Black Americans was another matter.
LUANG PRABANG, LAOS - APRIL 09: The China-Laos Railway passes by a China Railway cargo shipment on April 09, 2024 in Luang Prabang, Laos. The China-Laos railway, a key project of China's Belt and Road Initiative, is a high-speed railway connecting Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province, to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. This railway is the biggest public infrastructure project ever undertaken by Laos, with a total length of 1,035 kilometers and a cost of US$5.9 billion, which is equivalent to around one-third of Laos' gross domestic product in 2019. The railway is dedicated to both passenger and freight traffic services, creating a new link between Laos and China, the former's neighbor and closest partner. The Laos section of the railway is part of a vision to build a Pan-Asia railway that will ultimately connect China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, improving the efficiency of goods movement for export-driven economies along the route, opening up travel and extending China's influence deep into Southeast Asia. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

Debt-Trap Diplomacy

How justified are recent claims that China has been buying significant quantities of debt to undermine the sovereignty of African nations?
Star-Herb Medicines and Teas for all Diseases, 1923

How Government Helped Birth the Advertising Industry

Advertising went from being an embarrassing activity to a legitimate part of every company’s business plans—despite scant evidence that it worked.
Korean style assorted savory pancakes

K-cuisine in Malaysia: Are Locals Biting?

By neglecting local tastes and the culinary presence of Korean migrants, state-sponsored initiatives to globalize Korean food may fall short in Malaysia.
visitors stand atop a large mound of salt bi-product from lithium production at a mine in the Atacama Desert on August 24, 2022 in Salar de Atacama, Chile.

The ABCs of Lithium 

Lithium is increasingly seen as a strategic resource, especially for batteries in dreams of a green future. But where does it come from, and at what cost?
Ostrich farm in the desert

Ostrich Bubbles

The birds aren’t the only ones with their heads in the sand.