Popular Science—but Make It North Korean
In the 1950s, science in North Korea was presented in a way that fired children’s imaginations and encouraged youth to develop ideas that served the state.
Monaco, a Mediterranean Principality Shaped by the Middle Ages
From Grimaldi piracy in the Medieval era to the high-stakes gambling tables of the present, Monaco celebrates its ties to science, religion, and royalty.
Performing Forensics: Doctors Becoming Expert Witnesses
Doctors in skeptical Scotland had to persuade the courts to listen to them, in part because of the historical animosity between the professions of law and medicine.
Disinheritance: The Internment of Japanese Canadians
Glenn McPherson, the bureaucrat largely responsible for selling off the property of interned Japanese Canadians during World War II, was also a secret agent.
Building Notre Dame in Beijing
Chinese church architecture progressed from initial setbacks to reflect a two-way transfer of design and building techniques as East met West.
Cultural Villages in South Africa
Originally viewed as a way to educate tourists on the multiple peoples and traditions of South Africa, cultural villages may soon be a thing of the past.
Accused as a Witch? Sue ’em!
That’s what they did in the Kingdom of Navarre, where some of the victims brought suit against their accusers for defamation and other offenses.
Cheesy Terroir-ism: The ABCs of AOCs
Whether it supports the production of wine or cheese, terroir is a “particularly French conception of cultural territory” says historian Tamara L. Whited.
The High Cost of Sand in Southeast Asia
The clean, green garden city of Singapore has been built on sand extracted—at significant environmental cost—from its neighbors.
A History of Fire
It’s only as we brought fire under better control that we stopped thinking so much about it—and, with climate change, that may be shifting again.