How Baseball Became a Profession
Sports historian Steven A. Riess writes that the process that transformed baseball into a high-paid profession began in the 1860s.
The Wartime Origins of Farmers Markets
In 1943, the idea of a farmers market at which produce was sold directly to the customer was nearly unheard of, a relic of the distant past.
How Do We Teach Children About Existential Threats?
In 1986, in the midst of the Cold War, psychologists set out to find answers about how to talk to kids about nuclear war.
Is Your Kids’ Summer Reading Actually Helping Them?
Some studies have found that simply getting kids to pick up a book during the summer may not actually help that much. What actually works?
The 19th-Century Activist Who Tried to Transform Teaching
Margaret Haley argued for unionization, insisting that “there is no possible conflict between the interest of the child and the interest of the teacher.”
What Really Happened to Easter Island?
Did Easter Island's inhabitants degrade their ecosystem to the point that the island could no longer support them? Or is there more to the story?
The Books that Taught the Seventies to Have Sex
What can 1970s sex manuals tell us about the height of the Sexual Revolution? The 1970s was a distinctive sexual decade that’s well worth studying today.
Failure Has Always Been a Key to Success
Failure is in fashion, but this isn't some new passing trend. How universities and the medical profession have embraced the idea of "failing better."
Pioneers Were America’s Original Artisanal Bakers
Why were cowboys and pioneers so obsessed with their baked goods? A look at the birth of sourdough culture (har har) in the United States.
The Lost (and Found) Classic Cocktail of San Francisco
The legend of Pisco punch did not die with its creator, Duncan Nicol.