In Praise of Loitering
A possible remedy to sexual harassment and assault in public spaces is to encourage more people of all kinds to spend time on the streets.
Playing with Consciousness
Out-of-the-ordinary mental states are the goal of many religious rituals, but they’re also important in “playful” situations like kids’ games and fraternal hazing.
The Case for a Public Social Media Platform
Artist and writer Joshua Citarella explores why corporate platforms corrode democracy—and what a postal-service-style digital commons could do differently.
Bread, Circuses, Baths: Bathing in Rome, the Public Way
By the fourth century CE, Rome had some 856 privately owned public baths, the grounds of which served as civic gardens adorned with sculptures.
Ideal Missing Persons
Overrepresented as victims, missing white women and girls drive ratings and clicks for traditional and internet media.
In the Sharing Garden
How one family physician fosters food justice, social connectivity, and better health at a local community garden.
Explaining the Tides Before Newton
Astronomical explanations for tides, usually credited to Isaac Newton, can be traced to thinkers like Strabo and Pliny in the Classical era.
Potluck Nation
Food in America is a living archive of exchange and adaptation, where “ethnic” cuisines blend and redefine what national identity tastes like.
We Descend from the River
Public spaces are often sites of commemoration of events in the nation’s history. But which public is represented in and served by those spatialized celebrations?