The Thomas Fire Fans the Flames of Southern California’s Housing Crisis
The Thomas Fire continues to rage, bringing devastation and exacerbating existing inequality.
Category: Essays
How a $750 Down Jacket is Dividing College Campuses
When students critique outdoor fashion on campus, their views reveal gendered, ethnic, and regional stereotypes at play in the local meaning of international brands.
Five Reasons Why Henry Ford’s Failure in Brazil Still Matters Today
In this quick guide to Henry Ford’s lasting impact in the Amazon, the director of Beyond Fordlândia shares the untold stories of violence, pollution, and activism he uncovered while filming the new documentary.
Citizen Management in a Contested Landscape
An ecologically diverse nature reserve in Wisconsin’s famed Driftless Area thrives today because of state, tribal, and local collaboration.
Erratic Monuments to a Melting World
As glaciers melt, they leave behind abandoned rocks and other erratics. This photo essay of the Alaskan wilderness explores how glacial erratics are time travelers, treasure troves, reliquaries, and rubble.
What A Card Game Teaches Us About Moving Through A City
The geography of a city can compel people to behave in predictable patterns. A new card game challenges players to rethink and explore urban spaces.
The Immigrants Who Supplied the Smithsonian’s Fish Collection
The Smithsonian’s fish collection preserves not just specimens but the labor and knowledge of immigrant fishermen on the California coast.
When We Repealed Daylight Saving Time
In 1922, 16 states and 137 cities followed Daylight Saving Time—and the rest of the country did not. Repealing Daylight Saving Time only made the map of national temporal borders more complex, causing heartbreak and confusion at the border.
Rural People and Academic Elites Saved Higher Education Once. They Can Do It Again.
Rural resentment is nothing new. When one university reckoned with it a century ago, it convinced farmers that the university worked for them—and improved itself in the process.
Ecological Homes: Making Women, Men, and Nature
At the New Alchemy Institute’s bioshelters, green technologies promised social revolution. But women still found themselves stuck with the dishes.
