Suggested Readings: City Rats, a War for Beer, and the Great Depression
Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.
“Thoughts and Prayers” in Greek Tragedy
With national tragedies now as frequent and predictable as sunrises, no phrase has lost consolatory power more swiftly than “thoughts and prayers.”
Coffee-Powered Buses, Cannabis Megafarms, and a Fashionable Facelift
Britiain's red double-deckers will run on spent coffee grounds. California cannabis farms may now mushroom in size. Fashion is due for an ecological shift.
Winston Churchill’s Love-Hungry Childhood
Winston Churchill started life as a love-starved child whose lonely childhood set the stage for his almost fanatical need for influence and power.
Are You Wearing Seaweed?
Are you wearing seaweed? People have been for hundreds of years, in sizing, patterns and fibers, although they might not have known it.
How Hollywood Thrived Through the Red Scare
A young Richard Nixon started asking studio executives why they didn't produce anti-Communist movies. The studios quickly responded with anti-Red films.
The Populist Power of the American Trucker
How did truckers nudge the American economy toward deregulation?
Why Scientists Couldn’t Save the Vaquita, the “Panda of the Sea”
It might be the end of the line for the vaquita, the world’s rarest marine mammal. A dramatic last-ditch attempt to capture one has failed.
The History of the History of American Slavery
In an age when the White House is being asked if slavery was a good or bad thing, perhaps we should take a look at the history of the history of slavery.
Should Banksy be on the West Bank?
Who is Bansky better serving with his artwork in Gaza? Those living on the bank itself or his personal brand?