Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson

The Border Presidents and Civil Rights

Three US presidents from the South’s borders—Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson—worked against Southern politicians to support civil and voting rights.
Georgette Chen, Self Portrait, c. 1946

The Genius of Georgette Chen

Little known outside of Singapore and Malaysia, Georgette Chen was an iconic artist of the Nanyang Style.
Russia on a globe

Eurasianism: A Primer 

Anti-Western and pro-expansionist, Eurasianists believed every country had a right to its own existence...as part of the Russian civilization.
Crocus sativus

Saffron: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Spice

Appearing in the written record as early as 2300 BCE, saffron can be traced in foodways around the globe, despite the finicky nature of its harvest.
An illustration of Spaghettification from NASA's Imagine the Universe!

“Spaghettification”: How Black Holes Stretch Objects into Oblivion

Want to avoid getting “spaghettified” by a black hole? Steer clear of the smaller ones.
Map of the Missouri Compromise, 1820

Missouri Compromise of 1820: Annotated

The “compromise” attempted to answer the question of whether the Missouri territory would be admitted to the Union as a “slave” or “free” state.
Matthias Brinsden murdering his wife in a quarrel, 18th century

Does Adultery Justify Murder?

There’s a popular (mis)perception that, prior to the rise of modern legal systems, a husband was considered justified in killing a straying wife.
The covers of Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans and How do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary Anthology

Searching for Home in Hmong American Writing

Two significant poetry anthologies deterritorialize home, showing that for Hmong Americans, home can be a process of moving and running despite living in a place.
Members of the Kikuyu tribe held in a prison camp in Kenya

Reporting Atrocity—Or Not—In Postwar Britain

Or, what metropolitan Britons could know about the colonies.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, ca. 1860

Why Not Just Be a Nurse?

To be taken seriously as physicians, women doctors in nineteenth-century Britain felt the need to distinguish themselves from others of their gender.