Why Adults Love Comic Books
There's more to comic books than bright colors, gratiutious violence, and whimsy. Comics tells stories that are deeply significant to their readers.
Was Mark Twain a Con Man?
A man named Samuel Clemens received funds from the radical abolitionist Boston Vigilance Committee in 1854. It may have been Mark Twain, pulling a prank.
Russian Cuckoos are Invading Alaska. Songbirds, Beware!
Songbirds may loose their entire broods to cuckoos’ parasitic tricks.
Can America Get Behind Full Employment?
Full employment was a prominent goal in U.S. politics after World War II, but has faded from policy debates in recent decades.
What a Paragraph Is
On the controversial directive that a paragraph must contain a topic sentence, an idea that theorists, writers, and students have questioned for decades.
Harry Potter, the Arthurian Romance
Perhaps the Harry Potter stories are so potent because they rework the iconic hero stories of medieval French Arthurian romances.
Burying NYC’s Forgotten Dead at Hart Island
A few miles off the coast of the Bronx is Hart Island, a potter's field where New York City's poor and unclaimed dead are buried.
How Global Colonialism Shaped Segregation
One of the first US municipal laws demanding residential segregation, passed in 1910 in Baltimore, has roots in European colonial policies.
The Overlooked Importance of Parasites
Parasites can be creepy, but according to some ecologists, parasites may substantially impact entire ecosystems—for the better.
Child Sacrifice in the Ancient Americas
At various sites throughout Peru and Argentina, archaeologists have found remains of child sacrifices.