Down the Research Rat Hole
While writing her forthcoming book about Polynesia, the author discovered the work of Teuira Henry, a scholar and folklorist who studied ancient Tahiti.
Photography Changed Americans’ Ideas about Nature
Many of our ideas about nature, wildlife, and conservation have their roots in the birth of nature photography.
Our Best Stories of 2018
Victorian librarians, Mister Rogers, queer time, and Jane Austen's subversive linguistics, oh my!
Breast Milk as Medicine
Human breast milk has been recommended as a cure-all since the 17th century.
“Silent Night,” Cookie Dough, and Alpha-Gal Allergies
Well-researched stories from America Magazine, Mosaic, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Is Fan Fiction a Helpful Literacy Tool?
Some teachers are adapting to the internet age by trying to understand the "new literacies" of today's students.
The Mixed Environmental Legacy of Missionaries
The recent murder of Christian missionary John Chau has drawn attention to the effects outsiders have on native tribes and ecology.
Cycloramas: The Virtual Reality of the 19th Century
Immersive displays brought 19th-century spectators to far-off places and distant battles. The way they portrayed history, however, was often inaccurate.
Jarena Lee, The First Woman African American Autobiographer
Jarena Lee was the first female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1836, she published her autobiography.
Meeting Earth’s First Animals at the Burgess Shale
The Burgess Shale is a huge deposit of unique fossils that reveals records of the middle Cambrian, a vital period in evolutionary history.