The History of Precrime
UCLA’s Violence Center was squelched by political revolt, not so much for its ambition to stockpile behavioral data as Americans' fear of psychosurgery.
Dawn of the Bathroom
The bathroom didn’t become a thing until the nineteenth century, and most working-class US homes added plumbed-in amenities in piecemeal fashion over time.
How a Paris Meet Changed Women’s Track and Field
In the early twentieth century, women were discouraged from competing in track and field. The First International Track Meet for Women helped change that.
Sylvia Plath’s Fascination with Bees
The social organization of the apiary gave Sylvia Plath a tool for examining her aesthetic self, even as her personal world slipped into disarray.
Stonehenge Before the Druids (Long, Long, Before The Druids)
The clash of academic archaeology and what might be called folk archaeology comes into stark focus at Stonehenge.
Parents’ Rights, Sex, and Race in 1970s Florida
Save Our Children is remembered as an effort to keep gay people out of public life. But it was also rooted in the movement against school integration.
How Mars Lost Its Magnetic Field—and Then Its Oceans
Chemical changes inside Mars's core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
Should Readers Trust “Inaccuracy” in Memoirs about Genocide?
To what extent do errors undermine life writing? The question is an urgent one when that writing is testimony to the genocidal actions of the Khmer Rouge.
Modeling Cultural Networks in the Classroom with Constellate
Using JSTOR’s Constellate lab to teach students how to do digital text analysis and data visualization for historical subjects.
When Did Americans Start Using Fossil Fuel?
The nineteenth-century establishment of mid-Atlantic coal mines and canals gave America its first taste of abundant fossil fuel energy.