How to Dress for Dystopia
Some nineteenth-century novelists predicted horrible futures, with perfectly horrible clothing to match.
How Thomas Mann Turned against the German Right
The best-selling author supported the Kaiser during World War I. What made him change his mind about politics later?
Eighteenth-Century Spies in the European Silk Industry
Curious about the advancing wonders of the age, savants traveled abroad to gather trade secrets for their homeland.
How a Fake Supergroup Mocked the Real Thing
The Masked Marauders were the cockamamie creation of a bored rock critic. They still sold 100,000 albums.
The Tragicomedy of Johanna the Super Whale
How a beached cetacean triggered one whale of a controversy.
Is Your Favorite Tree an Invasive Species?
Some superstar trees in the US are actually invasive to their ecosystems. Blossoming cherry trees, for example.
The Haiku of Richard Wright
As he lay bedridden with dysentery, the author wrote an astonishing number of haiku. What inspired him?
The Whole Earth Catalog, Where Counterculture Met Cyberculture
Long before Facebook or Twitter, an L.L. Bean-style catalog for hippies inspired the creation of one of the world’s first social networks.
Fun with Naming Decades in History
Whether the 2020s will roar remains to be seen, but people have been coming up with nicknames for decades since the Elegant (18)80s.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
A 2012 essay from the American Poetry Review on poetry and the architecture of anger.