Cross Reference image

Get Out of Dodge with Cross Reference

This month’s puzzle features a nod to the Second City.
From Missione in prattica. Padri cappuccini ne Regni di Congo, Angola et adiacenti

Kongo, Interpreted

In the sixteenth century, Kongo’s government trained young nobles to provide interpretation and cultural mediation between Europeans and Kongolese.
The Three Princes of Serendip

What Is Serendipity?

We often credit unexpected events to serendipity. But who amongst us knows The Three Princes of Serendip, the tale from which the word derives?
The cover of "Go" by Kazuki Kaneshiro

Race and American Pop Culture in Zainichi Stories

A close reading of the 1996 novel GO suggests zainichi identity is in dialogue with multiple national cultures, including American.
Decorative tiles made from natural cork material

Putting a Cork in It: In Construction, That Is

The bark of the evergreen oak Quercus suber has been used for millennia as a construction material. Could it be our answer to sustainable buildings?
Mohammad Mosaddeq, 1951

US–Iran Relations: 1953

What really happened in Iran back in the day, and what did the United States have to do with it?
Tyler S. Sprague

Tyler S. Sprague on the Intersection of Structure and Design

An interview with Tyler S. Sprague, a historian of the built environment whose work depends on multidisciplinarity and a deep knowledge of structure and materials.
Wild Horses at Play by George Catlin, between 1834 and 1837

The Rise and Fall of the Equestrian Cultures of the Plains

The introduction of the horse to North America by the Spanish transformed the lives of the Indigenous peoples of the Plains in decidedly mixed ways.
A still from the film Sumpah Pontianak, 1958.

The Indonesian Frontier Town Named for a Jungle Vampire

The city of Pontianak is notable for sharing its name with a vengeful folkloric revenant known by various monikers across the Malay Archipelago.