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Black and white headshot of author Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.

Protesters Demand Resignation Of Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello, July 22, 2019

“Jokes” about Genocide in Puerto Rico

The resignation of Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rosselló echoes an incident from the 1930s.
Satan's fall from heaven, into the logo for Chapo Trap House.

Satan, the Radical

There is a long history of leftist thinkers embracing Satan, usually just as a way to shake up political rhetoric.
Benedictine nuns from Eibingen Abbey in Germany

Nuns Don’t Have Midlife Crises

Why Benedictine nuns report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction than their non-monastic counterparts -- and what we can learn from them.
Eleanor Club, Chicago

Co-Living, the Hot New Trend of 1898

Chicago's "Eleanor Clubs" were designed to give young, working women affordable and congenial places to live.
A person looking up into the night sky

Will AI Restore Our Sense of Wonder?

According to philosopher Max Weber, science led to humanity's disenchantment. But reaching AI Singularity might spark our sense of wonder all over again.
Someone pouring a glass of gin

Is Alcoholism a Moral Failing?

Cultural explanations for alcoholism have changed significantly throughout the years, sometimes blaming social problems, sometimes psychological.
A DuPont ad for Orlon, 1953

What We Mean By “Better Living”

How advertising used the phrase “better living” to portray big business as a force for moral good and continuous progress.
Bobby Seale at John Sinclair Freedom Rally, 1971

African-American GIs and German Radicals: An Unexpected Alliance

In December 1969, radical German students reached out to the increasingly politicized black GIs. Together, they organized a series of rallies and teach-ins at German universities.
Erotic Confessions

Before the Internet, Cable TV Was for Porn

Although porn never became a big part of the cable TV business, it was central in debates over its regulation.
An advertisement for Pernot Liqueur

The Trouble with Absinthe

When temperance advocates won the ban on absinthe in 1915, many of them saw it as the first step in a broader anti-drinking campaign.
King (Kabaka) Mwanga from Buganda (1868-1903)

Anthropologists Hid African Same-Sex Relationships

Sex between people of the same gender has existed for millennia. But anthropologists in sub-Saharan Africa often ignored or distorted those relationships.
Pope Benedict XVI with incense

Smells Like Divine Spirit

The 4th century was a turning point for the role of scent in the Christian church.
Inside a Foreign Restaurant by Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1860

Restaurants Built Modern Japan’s Identity

In the early 20th century, Japan's embrace of exotic cuisines helped strengthen its connections both to China and to the West.
Several images of people smiling

Why Are Americans So Cheery?

How Americans went from loving melancholy to focusing on controlling their emotions -- and destinies.
Girls in a swimming class entertain an audience of neighborhood residents at Mullanphy Pool in St. Louis, MO

When Cities Closed Pools to Avoid Integration

Many Americans lack nearby municipal pools, the lasting result of extralegal Jim Crow-era efforts to keep races segregated at all costs.
A classroom in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1944

Teaching Race at School

Shaken by Nazi propaganda, educators tried to teach anti-racist lessons in the 30s-40s. Their methods, however, would be considered very problematic today.
The Indian's Vespers by Asher Brown Durand, 1847

Subscription Art for the 19th-Century Set

How the American Art-Union brought fine art to the people, via a subscription service, in the 1840s.
Map of Warren County, KY

Maps Showed People Their Worlds

In the 19th century, most Americans weren't used to seeing maps of their communities. New forms of color lithography changed all that.
Orphan asylum boys picking currants

When Foster Care Meant Farm Labor

Before current foster care programs were in place, Americans depended on farmers to take care of kids in exchange for hard labor.
A variety of vintage orange plastic items

The Revolutionary Past of Plastics

When plastics were first invented, they seemed to promise a utopian future.
A woman resting her head on her work desk

Is Burnout Really a Disease?

Perhaps, instead of thinking of burnout as a disease to be dealt with at the individual level, we might collectively address it as a social problem.
Croquet Scene by Winslow Homer, 1866

The Dangerous Game of Croquet

Many 19th-century observers were disturbed by the way young people took the co-ed sport of croquet as an opportunity to flirt.
Interior of a drug store in the 1950s

Cold Warriors Tanked Big Pharma Regulation

Worried about the high price of prescription drugs, a senator proposed a bill that would have regulated Big Pharma -- back in the 1950s.
An elderly schoolma'am chastising a boy

When Teachers Stopped Beating Kids

Corporal punishment of students largely fell out of favor in the early 19th century. The preferred new system used prizes to encourage good behavior.
Suprematist Painting (with Black Trapezium and Red Square) by Kazimir Malevich

Dreaming of Spaceflight in 1920s Russia

Early in the 20th century, Cosmism was all the rage in Russia, inspiring a utopian and mystical view of interstellar travel.