A History of Wind (Nautilus)
Elena Kazamia
What do wine prices, wildfires, and plague outbreaks have in common? A new paper using data from tree rings and historical records suggests they all have connections to shifts in the jet stream.
The Woman Behind Your Favorite Cookbooks (Slate)
by Sara B. Franklin
If you use cookbooks to learn new ways of making food, you owe something to editor Judith Jones. Unlike most people in publishing, she took books of recipes seriously, and she introduced the public to Julia Child, Madhur Jaffrey, and other cooking geniuses.
Deaf Child, Hearing Parent (Aeon)
by Abi Stephenson
To some Deaf advocates, adoption of certain hearing technologies reflect an unthinking effort to destroy their unique culture. For a hearing parent of a child with hearing loss, this raises questions about what’s really in their kid’s best interests.
Black Women and the Fight for Dignity in Philadelphia (Black Perspectives)
by Keisha N. Blain
Black women in late nineteenth-century Philadelphia faced danger on the streets and in the legal system. The tools they used to fight back ranged from drawing on community and eliciting public sympathy to buying guns.
Education 2025 (The Conversation)
by Kevin Welner
The incoming Trump administration has proposed eliminating the Department of Education. What would that actually mean, and could it really happen? And, if it doesn’t, what changes to federal education policy could still be in the works?
Got a hot tip about a well-researched story that belongs on this list? Email us here.