How Trading Card Collectors Have Fought Stereotypes
By making what may have been unseen visible, trading cards have often provided an opening into larger conversations on race, gender, and representation.
Why Some Buddhist Monks Ordain Trees
Buddhist monks in Thailand began tying trees with their traditional colored robes in the 1980s, as threats to ecology increased.
Playing Sports and “Playing Indian”
The use of Native American stereotypes for team mascots and nicknames is related to efforts to erase Indian identity and culture.
A Deadly Virus is Lurking in East Coast Mosquitoes
Eastern Equine Encephalitis may be brewing in the bog near you. Should you worry?
Helpful Rats, Terrifying Chickens, and Risky Thinking
Well-researched stories from NPR, The Walrus, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Arsenic Cake of Madame Lafarge
The first trial to use forensic toxicology electrified France in 1840 with the tale of a bad marriage and poisoned innards.
How Influenza Devastated the Navajo Community in 1918
Like COVID-19, the 1918 influenza pandemic moved swiftly through the Navajo community, but firsthand accounts of the devastation are rare.
The Mormon Fans of Europe’s 1848 Revolutions
As the crowned heads of Europe shuddered at the unrest in the streets, members of the Latter-Day Saints movement cheered.
The First American Restaurants’ Culinary Concoctions
A study of historical fine-dining menus yields surprises. Like six preparations of frog, and delicious lamb testicles.
The First Black-Owned Bookstore and the Fight for Freedom
Black abolitionist David Ruggles opened the first Black-owned bookstore in 1834, pointing the way to freedom—in more ways than one.