How Eucalyptus Trees Stoke Wildfires
Eucalypts are now cosmopolitan, spread around the world through imperialism and globalization. Unfortunately, they're also highly flammable.
The Stolen Children of Argentina
Between 1976 and 1983, some 30,000 Argentines were "disappeared," their children seized by the junta. The Abuelas—the Grandmothers—of the Plaza refuse to forget.
What Would Adam Smith Think of Modern Inequality?
The "father of modern economics" saw a role for a well-run government that used taxes and regulations to keep the market operating smoothly.
Trees, Apples, and Little Women
Well-researched stories from Pacific Standard, Public Books, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
What Life Was Like During the London Blitz
During WWII, 150,000+ people sought shelter in London's Tube stations each night. Over time, the various stations developed their own mini-governments.
The Genetics of Cousin Marriage
It's conventional wisdom that procreation between first cousins is unhealthy. But what are the actual genetic risks?
The Romanticization of the Mediterranean
The idea that the disparate nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea represent a single region is the product of the nineteenth century.
The Bisbee Deportations
According to one scholar, the 1917 deportation in Bisbee, AZ wasn't "about labor relations or race or gender: it was about all of them."
Trial by Combat? Trial by Cake!
The medieval tradition of deciding legal cases by appointing champions to fight to the death endured through 1817, unlike its tastier cousin.
The Controversy Around the First Museum Dinosaurs
Dinosaur bones on display at the American Museum of Natural History always balanced conveying objective truth with promoting science to the public.