Caitlin D. Wylie on the Hidden Labor of STEM Research
An interview with Caitlin D. Wylie, a social scientist who analyzes “behind-the-science work” to understand how knowledge is produced and who produces it.
Joseph McCarthy in Wheeling, West Virginia: Annotated
Senator Joseph McCarthy built his reputation on fear-mongering, smear campaigns, and falsehoods about government employees and their associates.
Reinventing Vacation in Japan
In the late nineteenth century, Japan adopted Western-style vacation, but not everyone was on board with the new leisure practices.
Popular Science—but Make It North Korean
In the 1950s, science in North Korea was presented in a way that fired children’s imaginations and encouraged youth to develop ideas that served the state.
The Science of Sourdough: How Citizens Are Helping Shape the Future of Fermented Foods
Citizen scientists are drawing on personal experience to help researchers create new plant-based fermented foods and maximize their health benefits.
Turning Orwell into Propaganda
Many read the novels of George Orwell as pro-capitalist/anti-socialist propaganda, but his work has become a resource for all kinds of political arguments.
Performing Forensics: Doctors Becoming Expert Witnesses
Doctors in skeptical Scotland had to persuade the courts to listen to them, in part because of the historical animosity between the professions of law and medicine.
Your Best Friend’s Mom
Parents, teachers, and family income affect educational and life outcomes for teenagers, but so does their best friend’s mother.
Disinheritance: The Internment of Japanese Canadians
Glenn McPherson, the bureaucrat largely responsible for selling off the property of interned Japanese Canadians during World War II, was also a secret agent.