Modi’s Un-Macho Populism (The Washington Post)
by Amrita Basu
From Vladamir Putin to Jair Bolsonaro, many right-wing populists lean hard on a macho self-presentation. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi—a vegetarian celibate with an androgynous style—is a very different story.

The ethics of pet robots (The New Yorker)
by Katie Engelhart
Robotic pets may help curb loneliness among the elderly. To some, this seems like an unethical solution to a lack of human companionship, or just a creepy idea. But some virtual pet owners see it differently.

Detoxifying tropical frogs (Vox)
by Benji Jones
Those gloriously colored tropical frogs don’t make their own poison. They get it from their diet. Now, human interventions in their habitats could leave them defenseless.

These weird humanities projects helped advance engineering (Public Books)
by Elyse Graham
Humanities scholars often scorn the idea of judging their work in pecuniary terms. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t clear cut cases of artistic endeavors advancing profitable technologies.

The Tulsa Massacre thorough Black and Native eyes (Perspectives on History)
by Alaina E. Roberts
Much of what we remember about the Tulsa Massacre comes from an account written by B.C. Franklin. His story also encapsulates the way white assaults on Native land affected Black people.

Got a hot tip about a well-researched story that belongs on this list? Email us here.