The Amoral Scientist
Fritz Haber was a chemist who made discoveries that improved global agriculture… but also helped spawn the modern era of chemical warfare.
The Trouble with Absinthe
When temperance advocates won the ban on absinthe in 1915, many of them saw it as the first step in a broader anti-drinking campaign.
Anthropologists Hid African Same-Sex Relationships
Sex between people of the same gender has existed for millennia. But anthropologists in sub-Saharan Africa often ignored or distorted those relationships.
The Origins of Women’s Soccer
The British Ladies Football Club held their first match at Alexandra Park in Crouch End, London in 1895.
The Movable Tent Cities of the Ottoman Empire
The most lavish among them were festooned with colorful appliqué and brightened with gilded leather.
How Natural Black Hair at Work Became a Civil Rights Issue
On the 55th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, U.S. courts are still divided about African Americans’ right to wear their natural hair in the workplace.
Restaurants Built Modern Japan’s Identity
In the early 20th century, Japan's embrace of exotic cuisines helped strengthen its connections both to China and to the West.
Why Cheerfulness Mattered in the Antarctica Expedition of 1912
Often associated with stoic masculinity, Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic Expedition was in fact defined by cheerfulness and friendly homemaking.
Why Did Ousted Egyptian President Morsi Lose Power?
Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012, in Egypt's first free elections. His death has put his brief presidency back in the spotlight.
Who Were the Montford Point Marines?
The first African-American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at Montford Point, eventually ending the military’s longstanding policy of racial segregation.