18th-Century Lovers Exchanged Portraits of Their Eyes
The miniature paintings celebrated and commemorated love at a time when public expressions of affection were uncouth.
Why Black Women Joined the Communist Party
During the Great Depression, Communists took to the streets to fight racism, poverty, and injustice. Among them were Black women.
Surviving a Pandemic, in 1918
A century ago, Catholic nuns from Philadelphia recalled what it was like to tend to the needy and the sick during the great influenza pandemic of 1918.
Discovering the Joy of Solitude While Social Distancing
Does the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Romantic notion of solitude offer a lesson for those practicing social distancing?
Sheep Snarf Seaweed at the Scottish Seashore
A seaweed-only diet seems to curb methane emissions in sheep on a tiny island in Scotland.
An Islamic Approach to Environmentalism
A number of contemporary Muslim environmentalist groups have been inspired by Koranic verses that stress the conservation of nature.
Could Foreign Policy Stop Another Pandemic?
Diseases know no borders. International cooperation and solidarity, say scholars, are as essential as funding.
What’s the Difference between Pandemic, Epidemic, and Outbreak?
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. What exactly does that mean?
Boccaccio’s Medicine
In the Decameron of Boccaccio, friends tell one another stories of love to while away the hours of quarantine.