United States flag pointing Washington in cheap plastic globe. Shallow depth of field, focus on flag

What Is Isolationism?

The history and politics of an often-maligned foreign policy concept.
Caitlin D. Wylie

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.
American politician Joseph McCarthy (1908 ? 1957), Republican senator from Wisconsin, testifies against the US Army during the Army-McCarthy hearings, Washington, DC, June 9, 1954. McCarthy stands before a map which charts Communist activity in the United States.

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.
From the picture album "Hakone 7 yu zue" by Hiroshige, 1852

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.
The cover of Sonyŏn kwahak from September, 1965

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.
Close-up of sourdough starter and flour in jars

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.
Publicity photo on the set of the CBS anthology television series Studio One for a presentation of George Orwell's 1984

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.
Gunsmith and ballistics expert Robert Churchill using a microscope to help compile a ballistic report for Scotland Yard in the case of the murder of Essex police officer PC George Gutteridge, 1927

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.
A mom looks at the teenage friend of her daughter and listens intently to her explaining an idea during a homework session.

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.
Government official meeting Hide Hyodo Shimizu's class at New Denver Internment Camp school, New Denver, British Columbia

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.