Marianne Moore, 1935

Marianne Moore: Master Mentor

A widely published poet with deep editorial experience, Moore turned out to be the perfect mentor for a Vassar student named Elizabeth Bishop
Marguerite Agniel, c. 1928

Religion of the Devil, Philosophy of the Coiled Serpent

In yoga’s early days in the United States, skeptics warned it would lead people (e.g., women) of good faith and standing into paganism and ill repute.
Christ's Descent into Hell by Hieronymus Bosch

Fire and Brimstone

If our conception of hell was absent from Christianity at the time the religion was born, whence exactly does it hail?
A voter checks in at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3103 polling location on November 8, 2022 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

What Makes Us Vote the Way We Do?

According to some political scientists, it's more about group identity than personal interests.
A farm, Bethel, Vt.by John Collier, 1943

J. B. Jackson and the Ordinary American Landscape

Jackson’s creative mind analyzed the landscapes of everyday life to understand the modest worlds—present and past—of regular people.
A colorized photograph of Marie Curie

Marie Curie and Polish Resistance

The two-time Nobel winner helped preserve her native Polish language, and undertook her education, at a time when these acts were potentially treasonous.
Collage of women astronomers

Eight Women Astronomers You Should Know

A guided tour of selected luminaries of astronomy, from Ancient Greece to today.
E. O. Wilson, 2003

E. O. Wilson and Biodiversity

Everyone talks about biodiversity these days, but an entomologist just might be its fiercest advocate.
Boy and girl standing in front of camera with car.

Fun with Naming Decades in History

Whether the 2020s will roar remains to be seen, but people have been coming up with nicknames for decades since the Elegant (18)80s.
Illustration by Arthur Rackham

Sick Party!

The party as site of contagion in Edgar Allan Poe, Evelyn Waugh, and Ling Ma.