Why Does Music in Science Fiction Sound Like That?
Imagining the sound of other worlds has a long past—and persistent creative limits.
Inside a Four-Million-Word Diary of 1860s New York
George Templeton Strong chronicles Civil War–era New York with unmatched immediacy, capturing daily life and upheaval.
The Supernatural Side of Malayan Rice Farming
In agrarian Malaya, spirit mediums negotiated with deities and demons to safeguard crops and shape the rhythms of rural life.
Worried About Teens Today? So Were Adults in the 1920s
A century ago, new technology and mobility reshaped what it meant to be young, linking rural life more closely to the city.
How America Racialized the Robot
Early robots in the US evolved from symbols of revolt into racialized figures tied to labor and the legacy of slavery.
Another Way to Boost Fourth Grade Reading Scores? Preschool
Early education doesn’t erase inequality, but research shows preschool can significantly narrow reading achievement gaps.
The Immigrant Photographers Who Shaped a Nation’s Image
In early twentieth-century Indonesia, Chinese-run studios brought modernity into focus.
William Hodges and the Art of Empire
How a traveling landscape painter helped create a homogeneous vision of the British Empire.
Islands of the Imagination
A short history of islands as sites of political escape and reinvention, from the myth of Atlantis to modern seasteading.
Just Wilde About Hair
The evolution of Oscar Wilde’s hair offers insight into how he constructed and revised his public identity.