Everyday Life, Revisited—with Bernadette Mayer’s Memory
In the poet’s work, the small and ordinary rise to the level of heroic adventures. If we value human life, then we should value what makes up a life.
The First Earth Day, and the First Green Generation
The first Earth Day took place fifty years ago, so most people don't remember how it happened or what it accomplished. It's time for a look back.
COVID-19 Is Hitting Black and Poor Communities the Hardest
The viral pandemic is underscoring fault lines in access to care for those on margins.
Viral Racism, Universal Antivirals, and Weird Dreams
Well-researched stories from Slate, The New Yorker, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
How Terrence McNally Reimagined the Danse Macabre
The centerpiece of the prize-winning Love! Valor! Compassion! is a rehearsal for an affirming staging of Swan Lake—in drag.
Three Centuries of Distance Learning
We will probably remember 2020 as the time when distance education exploded. But the infrastructure that enabled this expansion was years in the making.
Britain’s World Police in Mandate Palestine
As colonized peoples challenged the imperial powers after World War I, British veterans were tapped to become a ruthless police force.
Why Being Laid Off Can Hurt So Much
If an occupation becomes part of your identity, losing work can feel like a personal failing, even if it's clearly not your fault.
Who Were the Ladies of Llangollen?
Top hat connoisseurs, friends of princesses and poets, tchotchke models, dog lovers, cottage keepers...lesbians?
The Marvelous Experiments of Amateur Plant Breeders
Over 100 years ago, a horticulturalist introduced hybrid plants to California gardeners. Up sprouted a movement of amateur experiments in plant biology.