Homelessness in San Francisco

The Partisan Blame Game That Perpetuates Poverty

A sociological explanation for why the Bay's homelessness epidemic is so intractable.
Thames tunnel walk

How the Thames Tunnel Revealed London’s Class Divide

The Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, is still in use 175 years after its long-delayed opening, but you can't shop there anymore.
Astrolabe

The San Zeno Astrolabe Tracked Time by the Stars

The astrolabe was a revolutionary tool for calculating celestial positions and local time. The device's design dates back to Islamic antiquity.
Artificial snow Switzerland

The Real Problem with Artificial Snow

As the climate changes, snowfall in many areas has decreased. As natural snow is replaced with artificial snow, what is the environmental impact?
portrait of abolitionist James Hinds, 1860s

The White Carpetbagger Who Died Trying to Protect African-Americans’ Civil Rights

James Hinds was assassinated for his beliefs, and today is largely forgotten. He stood up for African-American civil rights during the Reconstruction, provoking the KKK's ire.
Optimistic woman vocation

The Spiritual Side of Vocation

Over the centuries, the idea of vocation has evolved to such a degree that it now encompasses any occupation which satisfies a personal calling.
Colonial headstone

Funerals Once Included Swag

In eighteenth-century New England, funeral attendees went home with funeral tokens–usually a pair of gloves or a ring that declared their sorrow.
Rodney King video

Why Didn’t the Rodney King Video Lead to a Conviction?

The grainy pictures speak for themselves. Or so thought many Americans who watched the video of the March 3rd, 1991, beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
Husk Power Systems

Running On Rice Husks—How One Entrepreneur Brought Electricity to His Village

In the rural Indian province of Bihar, Husk Power Systems is converting leftover rice husks into biofuel. Now they're building mini-power plants around the country, and expanding into Tanzania.
Serfdom in Russia

How American Slavery Echoed Russian Serfdom

Russian serfdom and American slavery ended within two years of each other; the defenders of these systems of bondage surprisingly shared many of the same arguments.