How Harry Truman Rose to Fame Curbing War Profiteers
Right when the U.S. needed supplies for World War II, military contractors started overcharging. An obscure senator from Missouri challenged them.
Sick of Streaming? Try This Really Long Cult Novel
Marguerite Young's Miss MacIntosh, My Darling is a dense fusion of poetry and prose. One critic says it's unjustifiably forgotten.
How Tucson Enforced Its 1918 Mask Requirement
During the influenza pandemic, the Arizona city's police force fined and arrested people for not wearing face masks.
Waffle Houses Mean Way More Than Waffles in Disasters
The restaurant chain and FEMA work together in calamities like tornadoes and hurricanes, for good reason.
The First Earth Day, and the First Green Generation
The first Earth Day took place fifty years ago, so most people don't remember how it happened or what it accomplished. It's time for a look back.
How Terrence McNally Reimagined the Danse Macabre
The centerpiece of the prize-winning Love! Valor! Compassion! is a rehearsal for an affirming staging of Swan Lake—in drag.
Three Centuries of Distance Learning
We will probably remember 2020 as the time when distance education exploded. But the infrastructure that enabled this expansion was years in the making.
Britain’s World Police in Mandate Palestine
As colonized peoples challenged the imperial powers after World War I, British veterans were tapped to become a ruthless police force.
Why Being Laid Off Can Hurt So Much
If an occupation becomes part of your identity, losing work can feel like a personal failing, even if it's clearly not your fault.