Liberia and the Centennial exhibition, 1876

Building a New Virginia in Liberia

Black American voluntary migrants to Liberia were eager to embrace their African roots, but their vision for the country was very much an American one.
Businesswoman with arms raised holding dropping arrow on green background

What Is the Cost of Sustainability?

In a global financial system dedicated to profits, a growing number of voices are suggesting that sustainable practices can pay off financially.
Woodcut of a badger, 1551

Hooray, Hooray for Badger Day!!

Striped-faced, short-legged badgers appear in folklore and tall tales around the world.
Orpheus by George de Forest Brush, 1890

Francis Bacon’s Fables of Life Extension

In his retellings of ancient myths, Bacon called for research to extend human lifespans, but only if those longer lives were spent in the pursuit of knowledge.
Woman admiring the parish church in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Global Gentrification

The transnational mobility of lifestyle migrants and digital nomads has led to the globalization of rent gaps and the pricing out of locals in some cities.
Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett, 2009

New Atheism and the Trouble with Literalism

Gaining strength in the early 2000s, the New Atheism movement was fueled by a fear of Christian fundamentalism and a belief that secularism was under attack.
Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872

Did Romans Really Fight Rhinos?

A sports historian explains the truth behind the battle scenes in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.
A diverse polyamorous family cuddling in bed, genders and relationships, pansexual lifestyle

Is Consensual Nonmonogamy a (Good) Thing?

Social biases can restrict research into consensual nonmonogamy, especially when it's harder to understand the processes involved in these relationships.
The cover of Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong

Monique Truong and the New Southern Gothic

Truong’s second novel, Bitter in the Mouth, expands the region and the meaning of “the South” in contemporary literature.
Two poachers with a sack. At their feet their lurcher dogs and the corpses of several hares.

Frederick Gowing, King of Poachers

The cultural construction of poaching meant Gowing’s trespasses were understood differently than other kinds of theft in an industrializing Britain.