How the Mercury 13 Fought to Get Women in Space
In 1962, the House of Representatives convened a special subcommittee to determine if women should be admitted into NASA’s space program.
A History of Transphobia in the Medical Establishment
At a time when trans people who wanted surgery needed to trust doctors, transphobia made it difficult.
Ynés Mexía: Botanical Trailblazer
This Mexican-American botanist fought against the harshness of both nature and society to follow her passion for plant collecting.
How Mass Incarceration Has Shaped History
A historian argues that it’s time to look at the consequences of locking up millions of people over several decades.
The French Revolution as Illuminati Conspiracy
The Illuminati was a real secret society. But in the hands of British conservatives during the French Revolution, it became a massive conspiracy.
How Medieval Arabic Literature Viewed Lesbians
As far back as the ninth century, doctors and poets wrote about women who loved women without calling them deviants.
Our Space Brothers Might Not Actually Look Like Little Green Men after All
If we find aliens, chances are they'll be nothing like we ever imagined.
A Recipe for Ancient Wildfires
The earliest wildfires raged long before humans, and they only needed three ingredients to get started.
The Red Scare and Women in Government
In 1952, a government administrator named Mary Dublin Keyserling was accused of being a communist. The attack on her was also an attack on feminism.
What Do Sugar Skulls Mean on El Día de los Muertos?
The iconography of Mexico's Día de los Muertos has become wildly popular outside Latino communities. But where did the skulls and skeletons come from?