The “Stone Face” of Racism
On October 17, 1961, Parisian police attacked a group of Algerians. The event would be lost to French history until a Nazi collaborator was exposed.
Restoring Native Grasslands to Help Birds
Grassland birds, such as the prairie chicken, plover, and bobolink, need a complex environment of varying structure, area, and grass types.
Women’s Search for Women Leaders in the Early Church
Some nineteenth-century women writers argued that the first Christians included women who were close to Paul—and maybe apostles themselves.
Integrating Baseball, before Jackie Robinson
Black players were banned from Major League Baseball during the Jim Crow era. Other players walked the color line—gently.
The Nice Married Couple Who Inspired People to ’Shroom
In the 1950s, Gordon and Valentina Wasson encountered magic mushrooms. Then they wouldn't stop talking about them.
When Statutory Rape Laws Led to Forced Marriages
In early 20th-century New York, men accused of "ruining" women under eighteen could avoid prosecution by marrying them.
The Theory Journal: Still Trendy after All These Years?
A wave of academic periodicals devoted to theory started appearing in the 1970s. Criticism wasn't far behind.
How Women Fought Misogyny in the Underground Press
Men dominated the underground papers of the 1960s. Feminist journalists like Robin Morgan and Sheila Ryan called them on their sexism.
How Teenage Girls Invented Fandom
They were mocked for their obsession with movies. But the fan culture they constructed help build Hollywood.
The Bitter Truth About Bitters
A bottle of bitters from about 1918 had significant amounts of alcohol and lead—and not a trace of the supposed active ingredient.