Album Cover Artwork Was Super Boring before Alex Steinweiss
Inspired by the Bauhaus and WPA posters, the midcentury designer all but invented the modern record-album cover.
How Women Fought for the Right to Be Bartenders
As Life magazine put it, “angry barmaids are tough opponents in any hassle.”
How to Increase Diversity in Community Science Projects
There's often a disconnect between the ambitions of scientists engaging the public and the potential participants themselves.
How Leonard Woolf Critiqued Bloomsbury from Within
A literary scholar argues that Leonard Woolf has been unfairly neglected—perhaps because his anti-imperialism implicated his friends.
Playing Girls’ Basketball in 1930s Chinatown
Chinese American girls played an innovative style of basketball on the playgrounds of San Francisco, and dominated the court.
The Benin Bronzes and the Cultural History of Museums
What an 1897 exhibition at the British Museum can tell us about how African artworks were perceived in an era of imperialism.
Reliving the Wonder Years of Wonder Bread
This story is as enriching as the added nutrients in the legendary white bread.
Chien-Shiung Wu, the First Lady of Physics
Chien-Shiung Wu disproved a fundamental law of physics—a stunning achievement that helped earn her male colleagues (but not her) a Nobel Prize.
How Tribute Bands Celebrate Music History
They're not just cheese! For some people, seeing a band play note-for-note covers of classic songs goes beyond nostalgia.
Who Killed the Recumbent Bicycle?
How a dominant technology became viewed as the only option, with no need for better-designed competitors.