Can We Live Without Air Conditioning?
Air conditioning is a profoundly paradoxical technology: the hotter it gets the more we use it, and the more we use it the hotter it gets.
How Baseball Became a Profession
Sports historian Steven A. Riess writes that the process that transformed baseball into a high-paid profession began in the 1860s.
Rip Currents: Hidden Danger of the Beach
Beating the heat at the beach? Be careful of rip currents, one of the greatest hazards to ocean ...
How Do We Teach Children About Existential Threats?
In 1986, in the midst of the Cold War, psychologists set out to find answers about how to talk to kids about nuclear war.
Guam For Beginners
How did the island of Guam, over 5,000 miles from the West Coast, get to be the closest piece of US territory to North Korea?
The Real Reason Why NYC’s Skyscrapers Are Where They Are
Why does Manhattan have two business separate districts? Turns out that it's not because of the usual story about bedrock depth.
Is Your Kids’ Summer Reading Actually Helping Them?
Some studies have found that simply getting kids to pick up a book during the summer may not actually help that much. What actually works?
Suggested Readings: Military Myths, Generation iPhone, and Immigration History
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.
The 19th-Century Activist Who Tried to Transform Teaching
Margaret Haley argued for unionization, insisting that “there is no possible conflict between the interest of the child and the interest of the teacher.”
What Really Happened to Easter Island?
Did Easter Island's inhabitants degrade their ecosystem to the point that the island could no longer support them? Or is there more to the story?