American West

As the need for ranch workers has dwindled, the iconic status of cowboys has continued to grow.

The surprising story of the vigilantes who took it upon themselves to catch bank robbers in the 1920s and 30s.

The "Rest Cure" for women is notorious. But the "West Cure" for men, though little known today, is a fundamental part of American mythology.

Scholars Carol K. Coburn and Martha Smith write that nuns were an important part of westward expansion—and in Colorado, nuns quickly learned how to use their gender to their advantage.

In The Long Winter, often praised as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s greatest novel, the villain may be not the snow, but oppressive gender roles.

For Jim Rock, tin cans were as important as shards of ancient pottery. Each can told a story of nineteenth and twentieth century life in America.

How did Portland, Oregon become a hipster haven? While other cities declined in the 60s and 70s, Portland looked at what they did and planned the opposite.

It's been a terrible year for fires in California and elsewhere around the world. Because then it always is now in the age of megafires.

During the Cold War, both the West and East Germany film industries made popular westerns. Yes, westerns. What was that all about?

Gray wolves in Wyoming recently lost their protected status. What will become of a species burdened by myths about its "fierce and furious" nature?