Dates: Civilization’s Sweetest Indulgence
Offshoots from the “Tree of Life” traveled from Mesopotamia to the Levant to the United States, beguiling everyone with their toothsome confections.
William Merritt Chase, the Accidental Ally
Painter William Merritt Chase opened an art school for a new generation of women, teaching them how to draw as well as how to advocate for themselves.
The Intersection of Dance and Science
Lynn Matluck Brooks dives into the ever-evolving relationship between movement and technology.
La Brea and Beyond
Pits and seeps full of tar and asphalt offer new insights into old ecosystems and cultures.
Is “Swatting” Rooted in a Prank Craze from the 1800s?
Why did Georgian-era England go mad for dangerous hoaxes, and what can that mania tell us about today’s volatile, content-hungry world?
Filles du roi: the Founding Mothers of New France
Sent by Louis XIV, the filles du roi were sent to North America to birth new generations of colonists and help conquer the land.
Pan-Asianism Redux, or Why We Think Japan Is Special
Observers have long hailed Japan’s aptitude for cultural synthesis. Is this characterization warranted, or does it reflect a collective fantasy about exceptionalism?
Science Lit for Kids Holds a Mirror Aloft
Over decades, books that rouse children’s interest in the natural world have morphed in style and approach—an evolution reflective of tectonic societal change.
Tolstoy’s Christian Anarchism
A fateful visit to a market in Moscow entirely upended Tolstoy’s view on life and society—and changed the trajectory of his work and purpose.
The Legacy of Asilomar
The 1975 scientific conference laid the ground rules governing the next half century (and counting) of biological research and public scrutiny of it.