African children during English class in southern Ethiopia

Fifty-One Languages, but When Does English Enter the Picture?

Educators and parents in Ethiopia agree that students should learn English in school. But when should instruction in that second (third, fourth) language begin?
SWAT Team members

Military Policing and Militarizing the Police

The use of military strategies inside the borders of the United States has long been connected with racial politics.
These fossilized foraminiferan shells, dating back 35 to 45 million years, were found in Tanzania. They all belong to species that are now extinct. The largest are about half a millimeter in diameter.

The History of the Ocean, as Told by Tiny Beautiful Fossils

Bountiful remains of foraminifera reveal how organisms responded to climate disturbances of the past. They can help predict the future, too.

The Geographical Misdirection of Cold War B-Movies

Some American Cold War films meant to allude to the contested theater of Vietnam were filmed in Thailand or the Philippines. Why the positional shenanigans?
Unclassics: Obscure Electronic Funk and Disco, 1975–1985

Quebec Disco: Influenced by Italo Disco?

Ostensibly developing on continents apart, the sounds Quebec Disco and Italo Disco exhibited an identifiable sonic kinship.
The 18th Regiment arrives during the Homestead Strike of 1892

How Steelworkers Stopped a Paramilitary Movement

Despite failing to break the Homestead Strike in 1892, the Pinkerton Agency demonstrated the extralegal threat paramilitary agencies created for Americans.
Tobacco leaves on a black background

The Ever-Lengthening History of Tobacco

People have been smoking in the Pacific Northwest for more than 4,500 years.
Ethnographic map of the Missouri Valley made by Inquidanecharo, great leader of the Ricara nation

Mapping “Indian Country”

In the early 1800s, the Native people of the Plains region didn’t generally think about their land in terms of tribes, territories, or racial difference.
The Pantheon, Rome

One Thousand Years of Domelessness

For more than 900 years, between the fifth century and the Renaissance, Romans didn’t cap their buildings with domes. Why?
The logo of the Christ Apostolic Church in Dublin, Ireland

Healing Dance at an African Church in Ireland

For congregants at the Yoruban-influenced Christ Apostolic Church in Dublin, sacred dance is a form of mental health care.