Celebrating Immigration on the Fourth of July
For many immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century, July 4th was deeply significant: Their own home countries were fighting for independence.
Jimmy Carter and the Meaning of Malaise
In July of 1979, Jimmy Carter delivered a presidential address that was more like a sermon, urging America to reflect upon its meaning and purpose.
The River Basin Surveys Preserved American Prehistory
Between 1945 and 1969, archaeologists hurriedly surveyed over 20,000 prehistorical sites before the Mississippi River Basin was flooded by dams.
Expecting the Unexpected: Researching Florence in Ecstasy
Debut novelist Jessie Chaffee on how she researched her critically-acclaimed new novel Florence in Ecstasy, with a little help from JSTOR.
How Poison Ivy Works
Where poison ivy comes from, why it gives some people such terrible reactions, and why—unfortunately for hikers and gardeners—its future is bright.
Why Sex and The City is Still in Style
Sex and the City was on television from 1998-2004, and still holds cultural cachet today. But does the actual programming still hold up?
A Brief History of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is seeing an upswing. But the-now widespread condition was not formally described until 1977, based on a case in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
How Antebellum Christians Justified Slavery
After Emancipation, some Southern Protestants refused to revise their proslavery views. In their minds, slavery had been divinely sanctioned.
The American Art Style that Idolized the Machine
Precisionism, a modernist art style that emerged in the early 20th century, glorified the machine age, all but erasing the presence of people.
You May Soon Be Eating These Gene-Edited Pigs
Scientists have produced pigs that can resist a billion dollar animal virus.