The Anthropology of the Office Email
Researchers learn a lot from studying office workers' email. But the question remains: do they learn more about the people, or about the medium itself?
How Victorian Mansions Became the Default Haunted House
Quick: Picture a haunted house. It's probably a Victorian mansion, right? Here's how these structures became signifiers of horror, haunting, and death.
Angry Women, Captive Jaguars, and Brainy Catholics
Well-researched stories from the New Yorker, Pacific Standard Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Before Rush Limbaugh, There Was Boake Carter
When Boake Carter opened his mouth, he whipped up tempers and tempests. But who was he?
The Most Abundant Creature You’ve Never Heard Of
Conodonts are actually older than the oldest previously known vertebrates, making them the earliest known “skeletonized” vertebrates in existence.
The Divide in Feminist Ethics on Mothering
In the 1960s, two groups of feminists had very different views about motherhood. Unsurprisingly, race and family played a role.
Why Do Some People Have Curly Hair and Others Straight?
Either environmental or sexual selective pressure began acting on hair after humans began dispersing out of Africa.
The Problem with “Public Charge” Rules
Historically, public charge rules have been a threat to immigrants dismissed as too disabled to be full contributors to the country.
From Samhain to Halloween
Exploring the Celtic origins of everyone's favorite harvest holiday celebrating thresholds between life and death.
The Lost Paradise of Los Angeles
Los Angeles's bountiful agricultural land was devoured by runaway suburbanization, a process which began long before the post-war era.