We Might Have Accidentally Killed the Only Life We Ever Found on Mars Nearly 50 Years Ago
In one experiment, the Viking landers added water to Martian soil samples. That might have been a very bad idea.
Visiting Christ’s Prison Cell
After Christian crusaders captured Jerusalem, the Prison of Christ featured on pilgrims' itineraries. But was Christ actually ever imprisoned there?
Japanese American Wives and the Sex Industry
Japanese American immigrant wives in the American West attempted to improve their living conditions through sex work.
Empress Matilda, George R. R. Martin’s Muse
Like the fictional character she inspired, Matilda was at the center of a civil war, fighting her own relatives for control of the royal throne.
“Microcosms of Empire” in the Colonial Grand Hotel
While Singapore's iconic Raffles Hotel may be marketed as a tranquil throwback to a bygone age, it also reveals the complicated truths of imperialism.
Women, Partition, and Violence
The 1947 partition of India and creation of Pakistan came with a hefty price—especially for the subcontinent’s women.
1610: Dawn of the Extraterrestrial
Galileo's telescopic view of the Moon sparked a giant transformation in the way human beings thought about the natural world.
When the Government Tried to Flood the Grand Canyon
In the 1960s, the government proposed the construction of two dams in the Grand Canyon, potentially flooding much of Grand Canyon National Park.
How Bengal’s Nineteenth-Century Art Defined Women
Women’s roles as icons ranged from being seductive and erotic to mythical and religious as they imparted social, political, and ethical values.
How Rocks and Minerals Play with Light to Produce Breathtaking Colors
Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.