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Black and white headshot of author Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills has advanced degrees in library science and film studies and is lapsed in both fields. He has published in Poetry, Huffington Post, and Nature Conservancy Magazine, among other places, and blogs regularly about urban natural history at matthewwills.com.

Chagos Islander
Politics & History

The Story and the Songs of the Chagos Islanders

For almost half a century, Chagos Islanders have been attempting to get back to their homeland in the Indian Ocean. Nostalgia may not be helping them.
private beach
Science & Technology

Can Anyone Own the Beach?

The perennial battle of beach access: who owns the beach front? 
Sir Roger Casement
Politics & History

Why Was Roger Casement Hanged?

A century after being executed as a traitor, Roger Casement continues to fascinate.
Census worker
Politics & Government

The U.S. Census and Politics

The US national census has always been political, and has a large part to play in determining political representation and power.
Aleppo marketplace
Politics & History

Making Sense of Syria

Can Syria's history help us understand the situation there today? 
Mondale/Carter
Politics & Government

What Does the Vice President Do?

Even the people with the job used to disparage the Vice Presidency. That's changed in the modern era.
John R. Brinkley
Politics & History

This Doc Was Really Nuts

Nuts! is a new documentary about John R. Brinkley, whose claim to fame was transplanting goat testicles into men in the 1920s.
Fireflies
Natural Science

The Nuptial Gifts of the Firefly

Fireflies, lightning bugs, glowworms: the evocative insects of summer reveal some surprising new insights into biology.
Emilie Chatelet
Politics & History

Émilie Du Châtelet: Heroine of the Enlightenment

Émilie Du Châtelet was one of the great figures of the Enlightenment in France.
Bryan Sewall campaign poster
Politics & Government

Populism for Beginners

If the appeal of Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Brexit can all be described as "populist," then what is populism?
Abel Meeropol
Arts & Culture

The Unlikely Origins of “Strange Fruit”

The man behind the anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit" was a white, Jewish, Communist named Abel Meeropol.
Andrew Jackson
Politics & Government

Why Do They Build Party Platforms, Anyway?

What is the point of the party platforms unveiled at political conventions? 
Montral Biosphere
Science & Technology

Buckminster Fuller: Captain of Spaceship Earth

Even apostles of the future end up as historical figures: a critical view of R. Buckminster Fuller as the Captain of Spaceship Earth.
British burn Washington, 1814
Politics & History

The Original Hawks and Doves

Where do the terms hawks and doves come from? The symbolic connections are ancient, but the War of 1812 put them in the political lexicon.
Fasces illustration
Politics & Government

Do You Know Fascism When You See It?

It may seem obvious, but a generic definition of fascism has been hard to pin down. 
Sirius
Education & Society

What Are the Dog Days of Summer?

The "dog days of summer" are attributed to the rise of Sirius, the Dog Star, but research into the lore suggests another dog entirely.
Shirley Chisholm and Rosa Parks
Politics & History

The Significance of Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Campaign

Shirley Chisholm: the first black female U.S. Representative, first black major-party candidate for President, and the first Democratic Party woman to run.
Declaration of Independence
Politics & Government

Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson was not then credited with its authorship.
Egg Cream
Politics & History

The Egg Cream Mob

What's in an egg cream? No eggs. No cream. And a dose of mafia history.
Dürer's Rhinoceros
Art & Art History

Dürer’s Rhinoceros and the Birth of Print Media

Dürer's image of a rhinoceros which drowned off Italy 500 years ago remains one of the world's most famous prints.
Mercury against a black sky
Natural Science

Where in the Solar System is Vulcan?

A hypothetical Planet Vulcan was the best explanation for strange astrological phenomena—until Einstein, that is. 
Illustration of two house sparrows
Politics & History

The Great Sparrow War of the 1870s

The "sparrow war" in the United States in the 1870s ended with a resounding victory… for the sparrows. 
Vinyl cover of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited
Arts & Culture

How Plato Anticipated Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" would not have surprised Plato. 
The Loving Family
Politics & History

Loving v. Virginia and the Origins of Loving Day

Loving Day celebrates the SCOTUS decision in Loving v. Virginia in 1967 which struck down the laws of the 16 states still forbidding interracial marriage. 
Victoria Woodhull
Politics & Government

Free Love and the First Female Presidential Nominee

Victoria Woodhull who was known to her enemies as "Mrs. Satan," was the first woman to run for president of the United States.

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