Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.

How rats conquered New York (Popular Science)
by Ellen Airhart
Rats started arriving at New York City’s ports in the 1700s. Since then they’ve divided the city among their extended families, fought off newcomers, and evaded centuries of extermination attempts.

A bishop, a city, and a war over beer (Atlas Obscura)
by Vittoria Traverso
Beer was a really big deal in fourteenth century Poland—so big that when monks threatened a city’s monopoly on brewing, the result was war.

Is 2017 the new 1929? (The Washington Post)
by Robert. S. McElvaine
What can a historian of the Great Depression teach us about changes to federal tax policy, and the political moment we’re in right now?

The number one risk factor for wrecking the climate (Vox)
by David Roberts
Reusing your grocery bags and biking to work are fine ideas. But when it comes to climate change, there’s only one thing that predicts a smaller personal impact: being poor.

Blue blood and mixed marriage (The Conversation)
by Ben Carrington
What does the marriage of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry tell us about “royal blood,” concepts of race, and the relevance of British royalty in the twenty-first century?

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