The Next (Salamander) Epidemic
Everybody loves salamanders, especially the exotic pet industry. But importing these amphibians helps spread diseases like Bsal and Bd to native populations.
The Feud Between Immigrant Newspapers in Arkansas
A feud between two nineteenth-century German-language newspapers showed that immigrant communities embraced a diversity of interests and beliefs.
Women in the Age of Polar Exploration
Opportunities were restricted during the so-called Heroic Age, but women still dreamed of exploration...and sometimes managed to reach the polar regions.
Historical Bugs: Archaeoentomology
The remains of ancient insects reveal new information about Paleo-Eskimo life and the history of the Norse in Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
Adam Smith, Revolutionary?
By 1800, Smith—once considered a friend of the poor and an enemy of the privileges of the rich—was already being refashioned into a icon of conservatism.
The Colonial History of the Telegraph
Gutta-percha, a natural resin, enabled European countries to communicate with their colonial outposts around the world.
Eating Seaweed in the Americas
From the kelp highway to blue plate kelp specials, seaweeds are gaining greater acceptance on the dining tables in the Americas.
The Rise and Fall of Fanny Cradock
Cradock was one of Britain's first celebrity chefs, but in what her viewers called “the Gwen Troake Incident,” she fell from her pedestal—hard.
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe: Annotated
Poe's 1841 story, arguably the first detective fiction, contains many tropes now considered standard to the genre, including a brilliant, amateur detective.
Rats, Gas Stoves, and the Birth of the Universe
Well-researched stories from The Guardian, Hakai Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.