How to Lose a War
Elizabeth D. Samet on the dangers of perpetual optimism
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, December 10, 2021
Paleolithic Passions
Charles Foster attempts to live—and think—as humans did 40,000 years ago
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, December 3, 2021
Spinning a Good Yarn
Once upon a time, Clara Parkes adopted a 676-pound bale of wool and got an inside look at a disappearing industry
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, November 26, 2021
Nature’s Pharmacy
How ethnobotany blends past and future medicine
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, November 19, 2021
People of the Parchment
The ordinary lives hidden in medieval manuscripts
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, November 12, 2021
The Sorceresses’ Amanuensis
Alice Hoffman on the conclusion of the Practical Magic series
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, October 29, 2021
Bite Club
Why the 17th-century vampire still haunts us today
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, October 22, 2021
Haunting the Homeland
Germany has all but forgotten the frenzy of witch trials and wonder doctors of the postwar period—but why?
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, October 15, 2021
The Extreme Path
Andrew Rankin on Japan’s infamous underworld
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, September 18, 2026
Call It Macaroni
Susan Stryker on her new book, Changing Gender
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, September 4, 2026
Blades of Grass
Christopher Kondrich on his poems of climatic catastrophe
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, August 21, 2026
The Translator Stuck
Amanda L. Andrei on her relationship with the Romanian language and her Romanian father
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, August 7, 2026
Riot Girls
Jessica Hopper shines a spotlight on the too-often-overlooked women of rock history
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, July 24, 2026
To the Manor Born
Adrian Tinniswood dissects the myth of the deteriorating British estate
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, July 10, 2026
The Industrial Revolution of Bees
Jennie Durant on the vicious cycle involving beekeepers and almond farms
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, June 26, 2026
Weather Kids and Panther Cubs
Zayd Ayers Dohrn on growing up on the run and in his parents’ revolutionary shadow
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, May 29, 2026
For Better or for Wurst
Jamie Loftus on the wild American world of hot dogs



















