A Feminist Vision of the Musical
Chantal Akerman’s The Eighties proves that a musical set in a mall can be a significant feminist work.
Walt Whitman, America’s Phrenologist
The pseudoscience of phrenology included a notion of body as text that Whitman loved. But the craze of "bumpology" also had a darker side.
Cold Warriors Tanked Big Pharma Regulation
Worried about the high price of prescription drugs, a senator proposed a bill that would have regulated Big Pharma -- back in the 1950s.
How the Plague Reshaped the World
The bacterium that causes the plague emerged relatively recently, as bacterium go. And yet the pandemics it's created have altered the world.
When Teachers Stopped Beating Kids
Corporal punishment of students largely fell out of favor in the early 19th century. The preferred new system used prizes to encourage good behavior.
Dreaming of Spaceflight in 1920s Russia
Early in the 20th century, Cosmism was all the rage in Russia, inspiring a utopian and mystical view of interstellar travel.
Why Luddites Are Fashionable Again
Today we call anyone with a flip phone a Luddite. But the term has radical origins.
Three Ways to Turn Your Apartment into a Sustainable Garden
Even the smallest city dwelling has enough space for a mini-meadow or a few flower pots.
Chocolate Science, Boy Trees, and Robot Artists
Well-researched stories from Atlas Obscura, Slate, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Women Clergy and the Stained-Glass Ceiling
Christian and Jewish women leaders transformed the U.S. religious landscape during the 1970s, but subtle discrimination has limited their opportunities.