The Joy of Online Reading (Public Books)
by Angelina Eimannsberger
Partisans of serious, sophisticated fiction may sometimes sniff at sites of online literary activity like Wattpad and AO3. But looking at the kinds of reading and writing done online highlights the social, collaborative nature of literature—not to mention the joy of reading.

Unearthing African Civilizations (Knowable Magazine)
by Amber Dance
Archaeological sites in East Africa have brought us knowledge about the evolution of early humans. But the civilizations of that region over the past few thousand years have received much less attention. That’s changing now, thanks largely to archaeologists from Africa.

Flute Music for the Birds (Atlas Obscura)
by Elah Feder, Judith Finell, Hollis Taylor, and Martha Manns
Australia’s lyrebirds are expert mimics, capable of reproducing sounds made by humans and our machines. But did one captive bird spread flute songs to a whole flock? A forensic musicologist investigates.

Were the Inca Masses Literate? (NPR)
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
Researchers have tended to assume that the tying of khipus for record-keeping in the Inca Empire was an elite practice. A new analysis of hair used in a khipu could upend that consensus.

When Clams Take Prozac (Undark)
by Carly Anne York
A random accident at a lab decades ago discovered something wild: Prozac causes clams to spawn. This discovery could help in the farming of bivalves that provide huge environmental benefits to our waterways.

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