The Godless Sex Radicals of the Kansas Plains
One of the biggest trends in American religious beliefs today is the rise of the “nones." In the 1880s, they might have called themselves freethinkers.
The Surprising History of the Kimono
The kimono that the world associates with Japan was actually created in the late-nineteenth century as a cultural identifier.
Are Free Markets Fictional?
Back in the 1940s, when America's post-war economic system was taking shape, many popular economists agreed that “free markets” were a fiction.
A Natural History of Flat Earthers
How is it that in 2017 there are still Flat Earthers? Perhaps first we need to look back at the myth of Christopher Columbus.
Are Classroom Holiday Parties Constitutional?
Can schools let students and teachers celebrate religions holidays without violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause?
Rethinking Bioengineered Skin
A boy with a rare condition was losing his skin, until a medical team was able to produce artificial skin. Healing damaged skin has long been a challenge.
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.