A Precedent for Today’s Political Violence
Illegal violence has always been a political tool, often serving the interests of the powerful. A historian looks at the case of 1930s Birmingham, Alabama.
How Do Fish Schools Work?
Fish schools turn, contract, expand, even part and come back together all without missing a beat. Yet fish are individuals, not a hive mind.
The Secret Gay Business Network of Midcentury America
In the 1940s and 50s, a life of business travel represented a sense of freedom for gay men that would have been impossible in earlier decades.
One Weird Trick for Raising Teachers’ Credentials
What's behind a drop in secondary school teachers' credentials? The profession has widened, but neither the its prestige, nor its pay has kept up.
California’s Plague of Poisonous Mushrooms
In the last couple of months, fourteen Californians have learned the hard way when they accidentally ate highly poisonous “Death Cap” mushrooms.
Suggested Readings: Political Violence, Robot Fact Checkers, and a War on Chinese Food
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.
Dan Rather on Dan Rather
Dan Rather's ruminations on politics and morality feel so 2017. This interview he gave in the '70s lends insight into how seriously he takes journalism.
How Basquiat Went From Underrated to Record-Breaking
A 1982 Untitled work of Jean-Michel Basquiat broke records as the highest selling US-produced artwork. Learn how Basquiat and his work gained its fame.
What Father’s Day Jokes Really Mean
Comic strip dads give us some sociological clues into how views surrounding masculinity and fatherhood have changed.
The Making of the American Diner
Today's diners would surprise a 1940s patron. These restaurants were once vulgar boy’s clubs before becoming today's family-friendly establishments.