Natural History

An Undying Story

The Natural History of Condiments

Games People Play

What’s the Universal Appeal?

Sanctified Science

Medieval monks developed technologies that changed history

June 2025

How Surnames Came to Be

Naming across Cultures

A Drug Deal Gone Bad

185 years later, the Opium Wars still shape global politics

April 2025

The Grandmother Effect

The Secret to Success?

Disgusting!

Our disgust response evolved to protect us

February 2025

Long-Distance Travelers

Not all those who wander are lost — J. R. R. Tolkien

December 2024 / January 2025

Secret of Secrets

Medieval Europe was an intellectual battleground of magic, science, and religion

November 2024

Bee Dependent

Our unrequited relationship

October 2024

Horse Warriors of the Great Plains

When European horses arrived on the Plains, they were coming home again

Tails of Ancient Rome

Humans and dogs have been partners for over 10,000 years

Stitches in Time

The impact of needles on civilizations.

June 2024

Hair Statements

Coifs tell the world who we are, or want to be.

May 2024

Moctezuma’s Revenge

Before the epidemics, Cortés was not a big threat to the Aztecs

April 2024

The Sounds of Ancient Music

The songs of the world’s first musical instruments would sound familiar to us.

The Great Flood(s)

Flood myths reflect 10,000 years of rising sea levels

Religions in Contact without Conflict

Judaism and Buddhism

December 2023 / January 2024

Mercury’s Promise and Poison

This element was revered by almost all ancient civilizations

The Forest of Notre-Dame

Much of the cathedral’s underlying support is made of wood.