Stephanie Bastek

Stephanie Bastek is the senior editor of the Scholar and the producer/host of the Smarty Pants podcast.

A Woman’s Place

White female slave owners in the South were just as deeply invested in the institution as their male counterparts

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday March 15, 2019

The Backdoor to Equality

Alternative arguments for fair treatment

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday March 8, 2019

A Different Sort of Superhero

Black Panther reminds us of comic book protagonists outside the mainstream

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday March 1, 2019

The Gray Edges of Blackness

Emily Bernard’s essays explore her own experience of race in America

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 22, 2019

Postcolonial Punchlines

Alain Mabanckou on what a joke can do

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 15, 2019

Heroin’s Long History

What our historical fascination with opium can tell us about the present

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 8, 2019

Searching for the Spirit of Acid House

Has electronic dance music lost its soul?

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 1, 2019

The Microscopic House Guest

Coming to terms with the abundance of life in our homes

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday December 7, 2018

Opera 101

A crash course in how to love one of the most elusive art forms

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday November 30, 2018

Through a Lens Darkly

A photographer on how we represent conflict

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday November 16, 2018

The Extreme Path

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 18, 2026

Call It Macaroni

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 4, 2026

Blades of Grass

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 21, 2026

The Translator Stuck

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 7, 2026

Riot Girls

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday July 24, 2026

To the Manor Born

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday July 10, 2026

The Geek Squad

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday June 12, 2026

For Better or for Wurst

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday May 15, 2026

● NEWSLETTER

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up