Fly Me to Cuba, Said the American Hijackers
The first diplomatic agreement between the US and Castro's Cuba was to stop Americans from committing "skyjackings."
Ernest Hemingway and Gender Fluidity
Despite his reputation for hypermasculinity, the author was fascinated by different forms of gender expression.
Why Do We Listen to Sad Music?
Scientists investigate the emotional and physical effects of sad music, in an ongoing quest to explain the "paradox of pleasurable sadness."
When the CIA Was Everywhere—Except on Screen
Hollywood was just fine avoiding all portrayals of the Central Intelligence Agency for years after the agency's founding in 1947.
Plant of the Month: Cordyline
Plantfluencers? Back in the nineteenth century, it was the dazzling leaves of cordyline that set trends in domestic style.
How the Media Covered Police Brutality Three Decades Ago
The first stories about the beating of Rodney King in two major newspapers focused on racial injustice. But that changed.
There Once Was a Poem Called a Limerick
Whose history, they say, isn't quick. It's all such a muddle, it can leave you befuddled, whether you like the clean or the sick.
Who Lived in Greenwich Village before the Bohemians?
The neighborhood of New York City was a haven for Catholics before it earned its reputation as a haven for artists.
The Unlikely Role of Kitchens in Occupied Japan
After World War II, "occupationaries" tried to spread American-style domesticity to Japanese women.