The Biology of Death-Feigning
Some animals, when faced with predators, play dead instead of trying to escape. But for death-feigning to work, a lot of things have to go well.
How Impressionist Berthe Morisot Painted Women’s Lives
Berthe Morisot never became as famous as her counterparts Claude Monet and Édouard Manet, but her work has an important place in art history.
The Mysterious Gynandromorph
Gynandromorphy is an extremely rare condition in which an animal is half male and half female. It's most visible in birds and butterflies.
The Monroe Doctrine’s Checkered Past
This 1823 policy initially focused on preventing European colonization in the Americas. But different US presidents have used it to mean different things.
A Sense of Place for Toddlers
Young children have a unique sense of the world that can be difficult for grown-up architects to grasp.
The Memoirs of Catherine The Great
Catherine II ruled Russia for many years. She also wrote her own memoirs, in a time when such writing was considered inappropriate for a monarch.
Why White Women Tried to Ban Native American Dances
In the early 1920s, reformers obsessed over the sexual nature of some Pueblo rituals, and attempted to control their performance.
The Pangolin Extinction Vortex
This shy, strange-looking, nocturnal mammal has been poached nearly to extinction.
21 Savage and “Deported Americans”
Rapper 21 Savage’s deportation battle highlights an important aspect of contemporary immigration policy that is often overlooked.
Searching for Black Queer History in Sensational Newspapers
Sometimes finding the stories of marginalized populations demands reading between the lines.