The Many Lives of Libraries

These stories span centuries and continents, revealing how libraries have shaped culture, politics, and public life.
Still Life with Apples by Paul Cézanne

The Case for Aesthetic Education

Why Friedrich Schiller believed art belongs at the heart of education—and why it matters for equal opportunity today.
Child Reading a Book

Another Way to Boost Fourth Grade Reading Scores? Preschool

Early education doesn’t erase inequality, but research shows preschool can significantly narrow reading achievement gaps.
Dana Elle Murphy

Dana Elle Murphy on Black Feminist Criticism

An interview with Dana Elle Murphy, whose work explores how drafts, fragments, and literary lineages expand our understanding of Black women’s writing.
Source: Getty/Downtown Arlington

The Power of Placemaking

Why the social, political, and emotional dimensions of public spaces matter, and how people themselves play a central role in creating them.
Landscape garden showing the foot path, lawn area, benches, water feature and pavilion on background. This sketch created, drawn in pen and marker.

Landscape Architecture: A Reading List

A survey of classic and contemporary works revealing how cities, materials, power, and ecology shape landscapes—and how design can create healthier, more just places.
A series of images in color block colors, including a map, a photo of a group of people digging, and an architectural mockup of a park landscape

Designing for Community and Climate in Los Angeles

How can we design public spaces that help people thrive and connect—with each other and with their environment?
The Musical Games by Anne Young

The Hidden History of Women Game Designers

Nineteenth-century women turned music lessons into interactive entertainment, complete with spinning wheels and ivory counters.
A view of the landscape seen along the Golden Gate Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

The Promise and Problems of Public Lands: A Reading List

Discover key research on U.S. public lands through scholarly works exploring conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and public policy.
Cross Reference image

For the Love of Gamers and Goals, It’s Cross Reference!

Or maybe this week’s puzzle is really about Greek salad and gulleys.