Children with their Indian nanny at St Ann's Well in the spa town of Buxton, Derbyshire, August 1922.

Ayahs Abroad: Colonial Nannies Cross The Empire

South Asian maids and nannies journeyed to Britain by the thousands in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century with returning colonials.
Hesperornis on the shoreline.

A Brief Guide to Birdwatching in the Age of Dinosaurs

Archaeopteryx and Hesperornis should be on the lists of any dino bird watcher.
The portrait of Confucius from Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese

Confucius in the European Enlightenment

Many Enlightenment thinkers admired Confucius, leading to a debate over whether classical Chinese philosophy was compatible with Christianity.
Joseph Bologne de Saint-George

Fencer, Violinist, Composer: The Life of Joseph Bologne

As a musician of color during the Ancien Régime and French Revolution, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, lived a life unlike those of his peers.
Revellers participate in the annual LGBTQIA+ Pride Parade on November 27, 2022 in Bengaluru, India.

The Legal Struggles of the LGBTQIA+ Community in India

A recent judgement by the Supreme Court of India put off the question of allowing same-sex marriage, but it still may be seen as a victory for the community.
Viewing the projection of a solar eclipse using a colander

Watching an Eclipse from Prison

For incarcerated people, being able to experience something collectively with those beyond the walls is a type of reprieve that buoys the soul and psyche.
Three female animals posing for photograph on an alpaca farm in Central Oregon

The Alpaca Racket

Why are alpacas everywhere, and why are they so expensive?
Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, 1992

She’s All About That Bass

It’s not your imagination: a disproportionate number of women really do play bass guitar in rock bands.
Mount Okmok, Alaska

Beware the Volcanoes of Alaska (and Elsewhere)

The 43 BCE eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano created the (cold) climate context for the fall of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire.
The Reverend Brian Hession of the Dawn Trust and Bible Films Ltd film company starts a showing of a religious film at St Peter's Church, Piccadilly, London, 1946

Seeing the World Through Missionaries’ Eyes

One way Americans got a look into life in distant parts of the world in the 1930s and ’40s was through films made by Protestant missionary groups.