Feminism’s Hidden Spiritual Side
Sometimes the pursuit of gender equality requires a little witchcraft.
The Early History of Human Excreta
When humans stopped being nomadic, we could no longer walk away from our waste. We’ve been battling it ever since.
How Veterans Created PTSD
Now a cultural staple, PTSD is a newer diagnosis. How have conceptions of trauma morphed and what does it mean for US institutions and society?
Why James Bond Villains Prefer Post-Soviet Architecture
In No Time to Die, Bond blows up the villain’s post-Soviet missile silo—just as he does every other modernist building he encounters.
How to Hear Images and See Sounds
Artists Shannon Finnegan and Andy Slater talk accessibility, transdimensional hearing, alt-text as poetry, sound descriptions, and Instagram captions for McSweeney’s Audio Issue.
Prison Abolition from Behind Prison Walls
The Anarchist Black Dragon was produced inside of the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. One of their journalists was murdered. Could the paper survive?
Mexico’s First Liberated City Commemorates Its Founding
The City of Yanga was founded after a group of enslaved Africans, led by Gaspar Yanga, rebelled against colonial rule.
Abortion Remedies from a Medieval Catholic Nun(!)
Hildegard von Bingen wrote medical texts describing how to prepare abortifacients.
Teaching Black Women’s Self-Care during Jim Crow
Maryrose Reeves Allen founded a wellness program at Howard University in 1925 that emphasized the physical, mental, and spiritual health of Black women.