SPOTLIGHT

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

By Augustine Sedgewick Tuesday, September 8, 2026

SPOTLIGHT

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

By Augustine Sedgewick Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Cover Story

Leaks and Consequences

Why treating leakers as spies puts journalists at legal risk

Essays

Solitude and Leadership

If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts

Essays

The End of the Black American Narrative

A new century calls for new stories grounded in the present, leaving behind the painful history of slavery and its consequences

Essays

What Kind of Father Am I?

Looking back at a lifetime of parenting sons and being parented by them

Peter Handke
Essays

The Apologist

The celebrated Austrian writer Peter Handke, who won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, appeared at the funeral of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Should we forgive him?

Essays

Fear of Falling

Working in the mop-and-bucket brigade in college created the perspectives of a lifetime

PBK at 250

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

PBK at 250

The Synthesis Is Here

Our future depends on how successfully we fuse the
liberal arts and technology

PBK at 250

A Life in Stanzas

How Phi Beta Kappa shaped one poet’s beginnings

Article

The Art of Letting Go
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On the poetics of loss

Read Me a Poem

“Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Tuning Up

Save the Meramec

On law, literature, and the Indiana bat

Smarty Pants Podcast

Call It Macaroni

Susan Stryker on her new book, Changing Gender

Tuning Up

Adding Wimsey to My Life

How I fell in love with a fictional detective

Asturias Days

On Returning

NEWSLETTER

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current issue

PBK at 250

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

PBK at 250

A Life in Stanzas

How Phi Beta Kappa shaped one poet’s beginnings

Article

Welcome to the Bioemporium
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Brain-dead bodies hold great promise for medical education and research, but how do we calculate the ethical cost?

Article

Love the Blood
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Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work

Article

My Two Front Teeth
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Reflections on a lifetime of dental drama

PBK at 250

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

PBK at 250

A Life in Stanzas

How Phi Beta Kappa shaped one poet’s beginnings

Article

Welcome to the Bioemporium
loading

Brain-dead bodies hold great promise for medical education and research, but how do we calculate the ethical cost?

Article

Love the Blood
loading

Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work

Article

My Two Front Teeth
loading

Reflections on a lifetime of dental drama