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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.

Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife, an oil painting, by John Singer Sargent from 1885
Health

The Culture of Tuberculosis

When perusing the biographies of artists, you'll notice that a large number of them had tuberculosis.
A polar bear walks on a frozen tundra
Plants & Animals

Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act

41 years after the Endangered Species act, what is its legacy?
Stockings hung above a fireplace next to a Christmas tree and presents
Politics & History

Oh, Christmas Tree!

The ubiquitous Christmas tree has a history, and it isn't biblical.
A modern street in Cuba with vintage cars on the road
Politics & History

Cuban-American Relations Through The Years

After 55 years, diplomatic relations have been re-established between the United States and Cuba.
A Cliff Swallow with sand in its mouth
Plants & Animals

Driving the Evolution of Cliff Swallows

Charles R. Brown and Mary Bomberger Brown have been studying cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska since the early 1980s.
Paperback copies J.R.R. Tolkien's classics: The Hobbit; The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; and The Return of the King
Arts & Culture

J. R. R. Tolkien the Philologist

Before The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien was a philologist, a specialist in historical texts.
Vultures on tree
Plants & Animals

How The Near Extinction of Indian Vultures Led to Disaster

The populations of the nine species of Indian vultures began to plummet in the 1990s
British flag
Politics & Government

The Anglo-American Relationship: Not Always So Special

The "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom followed a very long century of special enmity.
"I Have a Dream". engraved on a step of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Politics & History

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Paradox of Nonviolence

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize was controversial—and that controversy had nothing to do with his age.
Title page of 1914's journal, The New Republic
Politics & Government

The New Republic and the Idea of Progress

The recent shakeup at the The New Republic reminds us that journals of opinion have histories, too
Chains
Politics & History

The Modern History of Slavery

The Walk Free Foundation recently reported that 35 million people in the world today are trapped in different forms of slavery.
Black and white photograph of Leon Trotsky looking directly at the camera
Politics & History

Trotsky’s New York Minute

Trotsky in New York.
A troop of mushrooms
Plants & Animals

Mushrooms!

Mushrooms may seem like humble life forms, but they are very much wrapped up in the human experience.
Black and white illustration of men dueling from the 1899 bestseller, Richard Carvel
Arts & Culture

The Other Winston Churchill

Do you know about Winston Churchill, the American novelist? Now you do.
Let's Talk Turkey
Politics & History

Let’s Talk Turkey

First of all, why the name "turkey?"
A shelf of weathered leather bound books
Arts & Culture

The First English Books

In the rare book world, the earliest printed books are known as incunables or incunabula.
Pressed chestnut leaves
Plants & Animals

When Chestnuts Ruled Our Forests

Once plentiful, chestnuts were virtually extirpated from the forests of eastern North America by WWII.
The sun rising over the Earth's horizon
Science & Technology

Welcome to the Anthropocene

What is the anthropocene?
An older black and white headshot of Nelly Bly beside the cover of Round the World with Nelly Bly
Politics & History

Nellie Bly, Girl Reporter

A look back on Nellie Bly and the era of "stunt-reporting."
City Hall Station in New York with a symmetrical tiled pattern on the arches and ceiling
Politics & History

Rediscovering the Guastavinos

Rediscovering the Gustavinos contributions to architecture.
Kurdistan
Politics & History

Kurds: In the Middle of the Middle East

A brief history of Kurds and Middle Eastern politics.
A small bird on a thin tree branch
Plants & Animals

Winter Coping Strategies for Animals – and for Us

The winter coping strategies of birds and humans are not so different.
Families walking beside the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Politics & History

Escapist Humor in East and West Berlin

Humor in East and West Berlin before the wall came down.
Black and white illustration of the Battle of Orleans
Politics & Government

The Influence of Wars on American Politics

What does war do to domestic American politics?
A Gall Wasp on a horizontal stalk
Plants & Animals

Alfred C. Kinsey On Gall Wasps and Edible Plants

Alfred Kinsey was a professor of entomology before becoming a sexologist.

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