Viewing the projection of a solar eclipse using a colander

Watching an Eclipse from Prison

For incarcerated people, being able to experience something collectively with those beyond the walls is a type of reprieve that buoys the soul and psyche.
Three female animals posing for photograph on an alpaca farm in Central Oregon

The Alpaca Racket

Why are alpacas everywhere, and why are they so expensive?
Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, 1992

She’s All About That Bass

It’s not your imagination: a disproportionate number of women really do play bass guitar in rock bands.
Mount Okmok, Alaska

Beware the Volcanoes of Alaska (and Elsewhere)

The 43 BCE eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano created the (cold) climate context for the fall of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire.
The Reverend Brian Hession of the Dawn Trust and Bible Films Ltd film company starts a showing of a religious film at St Peter's Church, Piccadilly, London, 1946

Seeing the World Through Missionaries’ Eyes

One way Americans got a look into life in distant parts of the world in the 1930s and ’40s was through films made by Protestant missionary groups.
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.