Stephanie Bastek

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

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

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

Nothing Ever Dies

By Stephanie Bastek | Tuesday April 12, 2016

The Mechanical Horse

By Stephanie Bastek | Tuesday April 5, 2016

The Rarest Bird in the World

By Stephanie Bastek | Tuesday March 29, 2016

Almost Home

By Stephanie Bastek | Wednesday March 23, 2016

Graveyard Clay and The Dirty Dust

By Stephanie Bastek | Wednesday March 16, 2016

The Profiteers

By Stephanie Bastek | Wednesday March 9, 2016

You Could Look It Up

By Stephanie Bastek | Tuesday February 23, 2016

The Wonder of Wuthering Heights

By Stephanie Bastek | Tuesday February 16, 2016

The Firebrand and the First Lady

By Stephanie Bastek | Monday February 8, 2016

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