Stephanie Bastek

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

Eulogy for a Yenta

Jordy Rosenberg on his new novel, Night Night Fawn

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday March 6, 2026

The Carnifex of Cachtice

Shelley Puhak on the murderous legend of Elizabeth Bathory

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 20, 2026

What We Talk About When We Talk About Prehistory

Stefanos Geroulanos on how the deep past is used for political ends

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday February 6, 2026

The Snow Maiden

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday January 2, 2026

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

The Art of Doing Politics

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday August 15, 2025

Once in a Lifetime

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday June 27, 2025

Family Values

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday June 13, 2025

Lingua Obscura

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday May 23, 2025

The Shipping News

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday May 9, 2025

Coming Home

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday April 25, 2025

Muscle Memory

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday April 11, 2025

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