Isinglass; or, The Many Miracles of Fish Glue
Isinglass comes from the swim bladders of certain kinds of fish and can be found in everything from beer recipes to illuminated manuscripts. Ew? No way.
The Text That Stoked Modern Antisemitism
What's the history of the vicious The Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
Did White People Really Revive Surfing?
Contrary to the widespread idea that white missionaries stamped out the sport, evidence suggests that Native Hawai‘ians never stopped surfing.
The People Who Thought Farmers Without Radios Were Rubes
In the 1920s, some people thought that the new invention of radio would make American farmers less "backward."
Stingray Spines and the Maya
In Maya culture, rulers used stingray spines in bloodletting rituals. Researchers have ideas about why.
The Environmental Costs of War
Using aluminum as a case study, a geographer shows how wartime "commodity chains" can devastate the Earth.
The Beatles Got Started in Hamburg. There’s a Reason for That.
The Beatles first played Hamburg's pleasure zone in 1960, in a former strip club near the infamous Reeperbahn.
Black Journal and Liberatory Television
Underrepresented in the country's newsrooms, Black journalists found an outlet on public affairs shows like Black Journal.
How Local Newspapers Helped Emmett Till’s Murderers Go Free
Emmett Till was a boy of fourteen when he was lynched in Mississippi. The press would influence public opinion, and the outcome of the trial.
Sharks Before and After Jaws
The blockbuster Jaws (1975) provoked fear by portraying sharks as “mindless eating machines.” But what did people think of sharks before then?