A Secret Cipher for the KKK
How did the Ku Klux Klan spread across the South? Part of its journey depended on a code for secret correspondence.
Marriage and the Maiden Name
While many women trade surnames they had at birth for their husbands’, some hold on tightly to the former, a tradition famously established by Lucy Stone.
Bermuda: The Long and the Shorts of It
A tiny Atlantic outpost once central to Britain’s colonial world, Bermuda’s calm seas conceal centuries of trade, slavery, and superstition.
The Case for a Public Social Media Platform
Artist and writer Joshua Citarella explores why corporate platforms corrode democracy—and what a postal-service-style digital commons could do differently.
Bread, Circuses, Baths: Bathing in Rome, the Public Way
By the fourth century CE, Rome had some 856 privately owned public baths, the grounds of which served as civic gardens adorned with sculptures.
The Hidden History of Women Game Designers
Nineteenth-century women turned music lessons into interactive entertainment, complete with spinning wheels and ivory counters.
We Descend from the River
Public spaces are often sites of commemoration of events in the nation’s history. But which public is represented in and served by those spatialized celebrations?
Quakers Against Thanksgiving
In colonial America, government “thanksgivings” blurred faith and politics. For Quakers, rejecting them was an act of religious conviction.
The Tamest Grizzly of Yellowstone
Adored by tourists and studied by scientists, a grizzly mother named Sylvia became an emblem of the fragile balance between humans and the wild.
The Victory of Public Lands
Most Americans agree on the value of preserving public lands. How did the idea of public lands come about, and how can we ensure they exist in the future?