Viewing the projection of a solar eclipse using a colander

Watching an Eclipse from Prison

For incarcerated people, being able to experience something collectively with those beyond the walls is a type of reprieve that buoys the soul and psyche.
Three female animals posing for photograph on an alpaca farm in Central Oregon

The Alpaca Racket

Why are alpacas everywhere, and why are they so expensive?
Art Nouveau image of a person looking at a book of poetry, 1898 Velhagen Monatsheft

Make Your Own Poetry Anthology

Teaching students to make their own poetry anthologies in the form of a commonplace book gives them insight into the power, and problems, of curation.
The Reverend Brian Hession of the Dawn Trust and Bible Films Ltd film company starts a showing of a religious film at St Peter's Church, Piccadilly, London, 1946

Seeing the World Through Missionaries’ Eyes

One way Americans got a look into life in distant parts of the world in the 1930s and ’40s was through films made by Protestant missionary groups.
Saint Wilgefortis

Meet Saint Wilgefortis, the Bearded Virgin

A Christian martyr, Wilgefortis was divinely gifted with a sudden growth of facial hair to escape forced marriage, only to be crucified by her father.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benedictus_Spinoza._Line_engraving_by_W._Pobuda_after_(A._P._Wellcome_V0005578.jpg

Nice Guy Spinoza Finishes…First?

The Dutch Jewish philosopher Spinoza died in 1677, which is when the battle to define his life—and work—began.
Police find bog body dated over 2,000 years in Bellaghy. Police Service of Northern Ireland

A Body in the Bog

The bog is where forensics and archaeology meet to solve “cold cases.”
Jamia Mosque in Nairobi

A Mughal Mosque in Kenya

Built for Punjabi migrants brought to Africa by the British and modeled on Mughal architecture, the Jamia Masjid in Nairobi serves Kenya’s Muslim minority.
illustration of a woman's body on abstract blob background

Do You Own Your Body?

The idea that our bodies are our own may be intuitive, but when it comes to market transactions like surrogacy, our beliefs and feelings get more complicated.
Acharya Shri Bhikshu, the founder and first spiritual head of Śvētāmbara Terapanth

Jain Ascetics in a Material World

The Jain Śvētāmbara Terāpanth sect began as an ascetic discipline, but it has increasingly emphasized physical health over renunciation of the body.