Simon Miles on Superpowers and Serendipity
An interview with historian of US foreign policy and diplomacy Simon Miles, who finds that surprises in the archives can lead to the most compelling projects.
What’s That in My Glass? It’s Cross Reference!
Grab a cheeseboard and pour a soft, fruity red to help you solve this month’s puzzle.
The Legacy of Bruce Lee’s Sex Life
Lee’s untimely death in 1973 sparked an argument between his widow and his girlfriend over his libido that played out publicly in international media.
The Colonial Commodity of Knock-Off Cashmere
The import and mass-market replicas of the Kashmiri shawl highlighted Victorian anxieties about empire and its role in industrial modernity.
Weight Discrimination Is a Health Problem
The perception of weight discrimination shapes both people’s experience of their own weight status and their disability outcomes.
Vegetarian Heretics and the Christian Church
Since the religion’s early days, Christian thinkers have treated vegetarianism sometimes as heretical, sometimes as evidence of saintly asceticism.
The Sacred and Profane Dogs of Mongolia
In Mongolia, dogs are close companions to humans and a key part of a cosmology with Buddhist and shamanic influences. But they’re also seen as unclean.
Assigned Readings: Questions to Ask Yourself
Choosing texts to assign next semester? An experienced instructor offers tips for deciding what to add to your syllabus—and what to let go.
What Happens to Kids’ Learning if Dad Is Incarcerated?
Nearly two million minor children in the United States have an incarcerated father at any given time.
Aruba: Black Gold and Boas
What happens when an oil-rich island paradise interrupts its production of petroleum? You may have to visit the Caribbean island of Aruba to find out.