1971 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Ambulance

When Ambulances Were Hearses

The federal government pushed the improvement of emergency services from several directions in the 60s and 70s.
A women's hockey team, 1931

A Century Ago, Women Played Ice Hockey

Ice hockey came to the U.S. from Canada at the end of the nineteenth century. Women started playing immediately, forming their own clubs.
Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, American Museum of Natural History, Upper West Side, New York, NY

Sewing Saved Us from a “Cold Snap” 13 Thousand Years Ago

Sewing a full winter outfit from animal hides took 105 hours. And we needed lots of them to survive the Younger Dryas Cold Event.
King Lear, Act I, Scene I by Edwin Austin Abbey

The Rowdy Women of Early Modern Theater

There were, in fact, women in the audiences of Shakespeare’s plays. Some came to watch; others to sell their wares; others to get on stage themselves.
Closeup shot of a group of unrecognizable people holding plants growing out of soil

Five Green Living Resolutions for 2020

We won't solve all of the pressing environmental problems, but we can help mitigate some.
A forest floor

Best of Suggested Readings from 2019

Well-researched stories about the forest economy, eavesdropping squirrels, and more from publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Scholars attending a lecture in the Ashmolean Museum

The Invention of the Archive

Seventeenth-century scholars were horrified by how much ancient knowledge had been lost when the monasteries dispersed.
The Witcher

Why Netflix’s The Witcher Is a Gamble

TV shows based on video games can't capture all the little minutiae that captivate gamers, like the map in the instruction manual.
Six book covers

Editors’ Picks: What We’re Reading

The history of Native resistance, the philosophy of love, the medicalization of madness, color in fairy tales, and dinosaur bones.
Parmelia Lichen

Lichens as Sensors for Air Pollution

Lichens often go unnoticed, living on the ground, on tree trunks, or on rocks. They're hearty, but remarkably sensitive to air pollution.