Building Cultures on Wheat
Wheat remains a central part of national identity in Tajikistan despite the mechanization of agriculture and decades of hostile Soviet policies.
Pro-Epidemic Stigmatization
Prejudice and moralism interferes with public health, aiding and abetting the spread of the HIV and monkeypox viruses.
In the Gutters of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman
Gaiman’s stories echo with narratives from the Western canon, taken from folktales and communal memory, displaced into something that feels fresh.
Death by Ice Cream
In the late nineteenth century, ice cream, a popular but poorly understood dessert, brought illness and death to America’s fairs and festivals.
Lipstick’s Complex History
From antiquity to the present, the laws governing the wearing of lipstick have been shaped by gender, class, safety, and religion.
Clothes Overload, Shared Emotions, and Procrastination
Well-researched stories from The Atlantic, Slate, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Hoax That Inspired Mary Shelley
In the hot summer of 1826, the British people—including science fiction author, Mary Shelley—embraced a fake and frozen Roger Dodsworth.
The Mpox 411
Although it’s less fatal and less transmissible than the related smallpox, there’s still serious cause for concern with the most recent outbreak.
How Mentally Ill People Fight for Their Rights
In the 1970s, a time of mass deinstitutionalization, former patients came together to found the Psychiatric Inmates Liberation Movement.
Cane Toads, Dung Beetles, and Cork Hats
Predicting the effects of introducing a species into an ecosystem is difficult. Mitigating those effects later is even more so. Just ask Australia.