Stephanie Bastek

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

The Midwife of Black Nationalism

Ashley D. Farmer on the forgotten life of “Queen Mother” Audley Moore

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday December 12, 2025

Ground Truths

Edward McPherson zooms in on the aerial view

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday November 21, 2025

The Dangerous Dead

John Blair on the enduring epidemics of the undead

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday October 31, 2025

For the Love of Foraging

Gabrielle Cerberville on living and eating with the seasons

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday October 17, 2025

From Sofia to Chicago

Izidora Angel on growing up in 1980s communist Bulgaria

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday October 3, 2025

Why the Bronx Burned

Bench Ansfield on a 20th-century triangle trade

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 12, 2025

What Lies Beneath the Levee Camp Holler

Eric McHenry investigates a century-old crime preserved in music

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 29, 2025

The Art of Doing Politics

Sarah Stein Lubrano on prioritizing relationships over rationality

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 15, 2025

The Linguistics of Brain Rot

Adam Aleksic on how social media is transforming our words

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday July 25, 2025

Michael Douglas Explains It All

Jessa Crispin on what the actor’s roles tell us about the crisis of masculinity

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday July 11, 2025

The Music of the Ancients

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 9, 2022

More Than a Mere Tastemaker

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 2, 2022

The Butler Did It

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 26, 2022

When Science Is Not the Answer

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 12, 2022

Mob Music

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 5, 2022

The Original Influencer

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday July 29, 2022

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