The Highway and the Gap
The Pan-American Highway began a century ago with a vision of unfettered motor-vehicle access between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. What happened to the dream?
The True Story of Grizzly Adams
In order to invent a legendary hero of the Wild West, John Adams shook himself free from his life as shoemaker in Massachusetts.
Space Medicine for the Inexperienced Astronaut
The promise of commercial spaceflight raises questions about how untrained travelers will endure the extreme hostility of space.
Fear of an Insect Planet
"Big bug movies" of the 1950s have been interpreted as projections of nuclear anxieties. But what if they were about...actual fear of bugs?
Banks’ Own Private Currencies in 19th-Century America
Before the Civil War local banks issued their own money. It was totally legit, too.
The Environmental Costs of War
Using aluminum as a case study, a geographer shows how wartime "commodity chains" can devastate the Earth.
How Cremation Lost Its Stigma
The pro-cremation movement of the nineteenth century battled religious tradition, not to mention the specter of mass graves during epidemics.
Has the U.S. Government Abandoned Birds?
Recent changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 leave birds vulnerable to industry, experts say.
The First Earth Day, and the First Green Generation
The first Earth Day took place fifty years ago, so most people don't remember how it happened or what it accomplished. It's time for a look back.