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.
The Joy of Eating in Utopia
The early socialist Charles Fourier had grand ideas about food. The pleasure of eating was right up there with sex.
Nittel Nacht: The Jewish Christmas Eve
'Twas the night before Christmas, and an undead Jesus walked the earth. No wonder early modern Jews played games and sang songs to scare him off.