Stamp Collecting as Metaphor for the Free Market
The hobby was originally pursued by middle-class women and children. But its resemblance to capitalist values made it attractive to men.
Our Editors’ Favorite Stories of 2020
This tectonic year brought shocks to the world, and though we don't know how it'll all shake out, we hope we've brought you nerdy joy.
How to Revive a Dead Language
Although it was the language of sacred texts and ritual, modern Hebrew wasn't spoken in conversation till the late nineteenth century.
Puritans, Altered Science, and Paradoxical Sunflowers
Well-researched stories from The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Atlantic, and other publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Jacobin Hating, American Style
The most radical faction of the French Revolution was hated by everyone in the United States from reactionaries to abolitionists.
Stories That Got Lost in 2020’s Erratic News Cycle
No matter how hard you work on a story, especially this year, it might get overlooked. Here are 20 that deserve more love.
A Fistful of Data: Information and the Cattle Industry
Beef barons needed cowboys less and bookkeepers more as the nineteenth century wore on.
The Folk Song That Fought against Fare Hikes
"M.T.A." is a humorous ditty about a never-ending subway ride. But it began in Boston's progressive political circles.
Making Sense of the Divine Right of Kings
The United States threw off the yoke of a king more than two centuries ago. Funny how we can't get enough of our erstwhile sovereigns today.
