Stephanie Bastek

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

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

Once in a Lifetime

Jonathan Gould on how Talking Heads transformed rock music

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday June 27, 2025

Family Values

Augustine Sedgewick on the history of paternity and patriarchy

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday June 13, 2025

The Snow Maiden

By Stephanie Bastek | Monday December 30, 2024

Ho Ho Horror

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday December 27, 2024

Kinship and Contradictions

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday December 13, 2024

Overconsumed

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday November 29, 2024

American Horror Story

By Stephanie Bastek | Thursday October 31, 2024

The Writing on the Wall

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday October 18, 2024

This Woman’s Work

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday October 4, 2024

Queen of the Night

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 20, 2024

A Toothsome Tale

By Stephanie Bastek | Friday September 6, 2024

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