The Devastation of Black Wall Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1921. A wave of racial violence destroys an affluent African-American community, seen as a threat to white-dominated American capitalism.
Caroline Louisa Daly Is Finally Getting Her Due
The works of the Canadian painter Caroline Louisa Daly were for years incorrectly attributed to Charles Daly, a municipal bureaucrat turned artist.
Book Club Made Me Gay
Book clubs and reading groups have long been important to marginalized communities.
What Makes a Glass House the Ideal Home for a Communist Gynecologist?
Paris’s Maison de Verre is a marvel of modernist architecture whose rarely seen interior was constructed to foster sociality.
The Clash Over Water in Waukesha, Wisconsin
A town that once thrived on tourism around its famed natural springs is seeking water from faraway Lake Michigan.
Unearthing a Forgotten Edith Wharton Play
Before she created her masterpieces like The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton had a brief (unsuccessful) stint as a playwright.
Could Sears Have Avoided Becoming Obsolete?
Amid a broader decline of American retail, Sears is struggling. Did changes in its business model over the course of its history doom it to failure?
Depressed People Aren’t Villains—Nor Are They Werewolves
Our tendency to view people with mental disorders as monsters instead of patients has a history that dates back to the 1400s.
The Novelist’s Risk: Researching The Last Neanderthal
Best-selling Canadian novelist Claire Cameron on how she researched her new novel The Last Neanderthal, with a little help from JSTOR.
The Illustrious History of the Avocado
Avocados had an important place in Mesoamerican peoples’ diet, mythology, and culture. It’s possible that they were eaten in Mexico 10,000 years ago.