An illustration of a forest consumed by fire as animals flee.

The Fires This Time

To understand current mass burning events better, scientists are turning to the phenomenon known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly.
Origanum syriacum

Za’atar: From Ancient Texts to Modern Conflict

More than an herb, za’atar shapes, narrates, and anchors identity and political dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean and Sinai Peninsula.
A photograph of spiral nebula M 51 taken by the Lick observatory, 1900

The Hidden Aesthetics of Early Astrophotography

Behind the transformative star photographs of the 1880s lay a complex collaboration between astronomers and engravers.
A series of images in color block colors, including a map, a photo of a group of people digging, and an architectural mockup of a park landscape

Designing for Community and Climate in Los Angeles

How can we design public spaces that help people thrive and connect—with each other and with their environment?
Children playing on a roundabout at a playground

Playing with Consciousness

Out-of-the-ordinary mental states are the goal of many religious rituals, but they’re also important in “playful” situations like kids’ games and fraternal hazing.
Raíces Garden. N 2nd St

Greening Philly’s Neglected Lots

Spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, an urban beautification program transformed neighborhoods in the city of brotherly love.
A series of color images showing the Sharing Garden in Providence, the Providence skyline, and a plants in a garden

In the Sharing Garden

How one family physician fosters food justice, social connectivity, and better health at a local community garden.
Quiet moonlight (beyond Catalina Island) by Granville Redmond, 1907

Explaining the Tides Before Newton

Astronomical explanations for tides, usually credited to Isaac Newton, can be traced to thinkers like Strabo and Pliny in the Classical era.
An ancient glacier channel at Lake Tenaya in Yosemite National Park, 1872

Living Laboratories: Science and the National Parks

National parks in the US are filled with glaciers and volcanoes, which isn't an accident, as the parks developed alongside the sciences of glaciology and volcanology.

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.