A postcard depicting the first hoeing of cotton

Hoe History: Complex and Knotted

The plantation hoe, a simple, ubiquitous, and historically ignored farming tool, was specific to the Atlantic colonial project, shows historian Chris Evans.
Aerial view of the lithium mine of Silver Peak, Nevada

The Art of the Deal or the Dirt?

Will so-called Trump Tariffs ensure that the United States has the minerals it needs to transition to sustainable energy?
A map of North America

The Making and Meaning of Greenland: A Reading List

A selection of research reports and peer-reviewed articles offers insight into the history and potential future of the autonomous territory of Greenland.
Cast of left hind foot of Deinonychus antirrhopus

The Origins of the “Dinosaur Renaissance”

John Ostrom’s ideas were part of the so-called Dinosaur Renaissance, a paradigm shift that posited dinosaurs as the warm-blooded ancestors of birds.
Illustration of Skylab with deployed parasol, ca. 1973

Skylab, Sealab, and the Psychology of the Extreme

During the Cold War, small groups of Americans lived together in space and at the bottom of the sea, offering psychologists a unique study opportunity.
A lump of peat used to make whiskey

Why Peat Is a Key Ingredient in Whisky and the Climate Crisis

Approximately 80 percent of Scotch whisky is made using peat as a fuel source for drying barley during the malting process. Is that a problem?
Artist’s conception of early star formation:

When Everything in the Universe Changed

The revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope and next-gen radio telescopes are probing what’s known as the epoch of reionization.
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis): fruiting branch. Coloured etching by J. Pass, c. 1796, after J. Ihle.

Quintessential Resilience: The Breadfruit in the Caribbean

The breadfruit tree has coexisted with humans for more than three thousand years. Its future may depend on how strong of an ally humans can become to it.
Icebergs towering over a sailing ship in Arctic waters.

The Open Polar Sea: Myth and Science at the North Pole

The idea of an open polar sea haunted the imaginations of European explorers and scientists alike in the nineteenth century.
Vanessa cardui

The Secrets of Butterfly Migration, Written in Pollen

Trillions of insects move around the globe each year. Scientists are working on new ways to map those long-distance journeys.