Her Bounty Is Boundless
From the first actor—a man—to play Juliet to the “girl boss” version on Broadway, Shakespeare’s young lover offers something new in every iteration.
Mermaids: Myth, Kith and Kin
Ariel epitomizes mermaids now, but these beguiling creatures precede her by millennia, sparking imaginations the world over with a hearty embrace of otherness.
Superbarrio: The People’s Superhero
Defender of the poor tenants and evictor of the voracious landlords, a masked lucha libre wrestler rose from the ruins of Mexico City’s 1985 earthquake.
The Mystery behind Charlotte Salomon’s Groundbreaking Art
Before she was killed by Nazis, Charlotte Salomon created a unique, genre-bending artwork that may have also been a confession to a murder.
Ai Weiwei’s Readymade: Politics
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been making political waves for decades, but his current shows are especially relevant to the United States.
The Tangled Language of Jargon
What our emotional reaction to jargon reveals about the evolution of the English language, and how the use of specialized terms can manipulate meaning.
Why Paul Robeson Was Labelled a Psychopath
The singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson had a spectacular rise and then a stunning fall brought on by the Cold War's pathologizing of dissent.
The Internet Needs a “Handle With Care” Protocol
Emotion can be difficult to parse online. Why not adopt a common protocol that lets our fellow internet citizens know our emotional state?
Can We Build a Better Facebook?
Is it time to turn our back on Facebook? And if so, what social network could possibly replace it?
How Jim Henson Changed Early Education and Brought Puppets Back
Jim Henson, born September 24th, 1936, died at the young age of 54 after changing the way American children learn and how their parents are entertained.