
Cover Story
A Kingdom of Little Animals
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of microorganisms made possible the revolutionary advances in biology and medicine that continue to inform our Covid age
by Laura J. Snyder
Articles
The Color of Dust
Sometimes even a team of radiation oncologists and neurosurgeons can be mystified by the strange workings of the human brain
by Patrick Tripp
The Lives of Bryan
My brother often eluded death, but the many trials that he endured could not prepare us for that awful moment when he finally left us
by Jennifer Sinor
Projections of Life
Memories of a Midwestern childhood and the stories only pictures can tell
by David Owen
The Whole World in His Hands
What a digital restoration of the most expensive painting ever sold tells us about beauty, authenticity, and the fragility of existence
by David Stromberg
Last Dance
At a World War II internment camp, George Igawa entertained thousands of incarcerated Japanese Americans—while teaching a band of novices how to swing
by Julian Saporiti
Departments
Anniversaries
Commonplace Book
Book Essay

Will the Real Vergil Please Stand Up?
Making sense of the life of a poet about whom we know so little