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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.

A stamp depicted the first earthling in space, Laika, a dog.
Plants & Animals

Laika: The First Earthling in Space

The first Earthling was Laika, a Russian mongrel found on the streets of Moscow.
Slate statute of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park.
Politics & History

Remembering and Representing Alan Turing

A 1955 obituary of Turing from the Royal Society is fascinating for what it leaves out of the first draft of history.
Stuffed Passenger Pigeon atop a wooden perch
Plants & Animals

Passengers Long Gone

Martha, last of the passenger pigeons. 
An overhead perspective of a Common Green Darner on a green leaf
Plants & Animals

Long-Distance Migration: Everybody’s Doing It

The birds do it. The butterflies do it. And now we know that the dragonflies do to it, too: long-distance migration. 
Low angle view of government buidling
Politics & History

The Origins of the Secret Service

Where did the Secret Service come from?
Orange and rust autumn leaves, illustrated
Plants & Animals

Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall?

Why do leaves change colors in fall?
A black and white portrait photograph of Herman Melville.
Arts & Culture

Melville Reborn, Again and Again

A scholar traces Herman Melville's reputation in American and British literary circles.
Illustrated imagining of American and Soviet spacecrafts docking from 1973.
Politics & Government

Space Is The Place: The US, USSR, and Space Exploration

Even during the Cold War, US and Russian cooperation succeeded in space exploration.
Grassy Lake in the John Muir Wilderness
Plants & Animals

The Wilderness Act Celebrates its 50th Birthday

The federal Wilderness Act was signed 50 years ago.
Planet Earth from Space
Science & Technology

A Historic Look at Climate Change Research

Plant ecologist Charles F. Cooper wrote prescient and succinct words on the topic of climate change back in 1978.
Robert Newton plays the infamous Blackbeard against Linda Darnell's Edwina Mansfield, another pirate's daughter.
Politics & History

International Talk Like a Pirate Day: Anarchy in the Arrrchives

The political science behind pirates.
Tami Bond, Photographed at University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, September 6th, 2014.
Science & Technology

MacArthur Fellow Tami Bond studies the “Dark Horse” of Climate Change

Environmental engineer and newly-minted MacArthur Fellow Tami Bond is an expert on "black carbon."
Bathroom sign with instructions on how to properly wash hands.
Health

How to Wash Your Hands

The research behind hand washing and MRSA, a resistant bacteria.
A medical professional prepares a patient for testing.
Health

The ABCs of Ebola

A is for don’t panic. The rest is science.
Anopheles stephens, a mosquito found in urban India, drawing human blood.
Plants & Animals

Mosquitoes: The Science Behind the Pests

Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others? How you smell to a mosquito affects how much you're bit.
Book cover of Thomas Pikett's Capital beside the author sitting in front of a whiteboard filled with equations
Business & Economics

The Road to Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century hit the number one spot on the New York Times nonfiction ...
A Budapest Honved FC player tries to keep possession of the ball against an Ujpest FC's player's attempt at a side tackle.
Politics & History

The History of the World Cup

Academic takes on the global football tournament.

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