Illustration of an insect between brackets and a pair of hands

Why We Need to Start Listening to Insects

The study of wingbeat has come an incredibly long way and could lead to breakthroughs crucial for human populations facing insect-borne disease and pests.
Lydia Pinkham products

Was Lydia E. Pinkham the Queen of Quackery?

She developed an immensely popular, if questionably effective, herbal remedy for “female complaints.” Pioneer in alternative medicine or...?
Woman taking photo of pumpkin soup with smartphone

Don’t Buy Into the Authenticity Scam

We choose products and services partially based on how they make us feel, on meanings we derive from our choices.
Close-up a lemur on a branch

Are Lemurs Going to the Dogs?

Neutering feral dogs in Madagascar means saving the native species.
urban bees

The Rise of the City Bee—How Urbanites Built the 21st-Century Apiculture

Urban apiculture is a booming trend. But many metropolitan beekeepers also believe that bees fare better in cities than they do in the countryside.
James Bond

The Marketable Misogyny of James Bond

The attitudes reflected in the James Bond franchise are wildly out of touch with social reality.
sediment piles

Sand? Mine!

Orca Quarry in British Columbia is one of a handful of mines feeding the nearly insatiable desire for sand and gravel in major West Coast cities.
Young Pope

Why The Young Pope Matters

Has anything like the events depicted in The Young Pope ever happened before? The answer, you may be surprised to learn, is yes.
Dance hall illustration

Jane Addams’s Crusade Against Victorian “Dancing Girls”

Jane Addams, a leading Victorian-era reformer, believed dance halls were “one of the great pitfalls of the city.”