A detail of an illustration depicting a husband and wife chained together and fighting in a courtroom

The Lost History of No-Fault Divorces

The regulation of divorce has changed a lot in the twentieth century. The National Association of Women Lawyers was instrumental in making that change happen.
College students work with archaeologists at "Koster Dig" in East Saint Louis

Grave Matters: Conflict in Reburial and Repatriation

The public is placing pressure on institutions to respect the concerns of Native peoples regarding the repatriation of human remains and grave-associated artifacts.
The cover page of The Introduction of Mesmerism into the Public Hospitals of India

The Mesmeric Dr. James Esdaile

The acceptance of mesmerism in colonial Bengal depended on the public performance of Western medicine couched in the wonders of a supposed “native” magic.
Seven-year-old Luz Clarisa Pacco shows huatia, potatoes cooked in a traditional Andean way in a whole on the ground on June 21, 2022 in Pisac, Peru.

Respecting the Potato

Cuzco’s Potato Park conserves biodiversity and strengthens food sovereignty, all while emphasizing respect for this important and charismatic crop.
Reverend Edward E. Hailwood, rector of St. Mark Episcopal Church

Fair Housing: A Church Against Itself?

A ballot measure aimed at overturning California’s 1963 Fair Housing Act revealed some serious divisions within the Episcopal Church.
Panicum maximum, Guinea Grass

Plant of the Month: Guinea Grass

The West African grass was imported to sustain Caribbean sugar plantations, but it has turned against them, becoming a symbol of resilience and independence.
A still from Molly Moo Cow and the Butterflies, 1935

The Pre-Captain Planet Eco-Heroes of Animation

Environmentally oriented films from the classical era of Hollywood animation delivered powerful messages about the negative consequences of technological progress.
A Zabbal on a Cairo street

Cairo’s Zabbaleen and Secret Life of Trash

In Egypt's capital, members of an impoverished Coptic population strengthen community ties while making a living as ragpickers.
Photograph: Anti-gay marriage protestors pray outside the Massachusetts State House March 11, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Source: Michael Springer/Getty

What is Fundamentalism?

Fundamentalism, which shifts the balance between authority structures and the indescribable divine, emerged after medieval society gave way to the modern.
Welder-trainee Josie Lucille Owens plies her trade on the SS George Washington Carver at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, CA, 1943

Toxic Legacies of WWII: Pollution and Segregation

Wartime production led directly to environmental and social injustices, polluting land and bodies in ways that continue to shape public policy and race relations.