Essay What does it mean to resist surveillance? January 28, 2023 If you talk to a long-haul trucker about why they chose their occupation, there’s a high likelihood they’ll mention autonomy and freedom—that they didn’t want someone looking over their shoulder all the time. Read More
Essay The long past of seaweeds January 27, 2023 Algae are one of life’s most diverse and least appreciated groups, and their rise—and the story of how seaweeds evolved within them—offer a key with which to unlock some of life’s most intricate secrets. Read More
Interview David Drewry on The Land Beneath the Ice January 25, 2023 For some years I had felt need to produce a coherent story about the “big science” project to map the ice thickness of Antarctica and the land that lies beneath. This is truly the last place on Earth to be surveyed. Read More
Interview Betty S. Lai on The Grant Writing Guide January 24, 2023 Grant funding can be a major determinant of promotion and tenure at colleges and universities, yet many scholars receive no training in the crucial skill of grant writing. Read More
Essay Yes, the Chinese care about the Western classics January 24, 2023 Much as in Europe and the US, the ancient Greeks live on in China through their works—at least, recently so. Over the past century, the philosophical and political texts of western antiquity, especially those of classical Athens, have sparked the interest of Chinese intellectuals, journalists, reformers, and nationalists. Read More
Podcast The Wife of Bath January 20, 2023 Ever since her triumphant debut in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath, arguably the first ordinary and recognisably real woman in English literature, has obsessed readers—from Shakespeare to James Joyce, Voltaire to Pasolini, Dryden to Zadie Smith. Read More
Podcast Listen in: How the Universe Got Its Spots January 20, 2023 Is the universe infinite or just really big? With this question, cosmologist Janna Levin announces the central theme of this book, which established her as one of the most direct, unorthodox, and creative voices in contemporary science. Read More
Essay The curse of long-ruling autocrats January 18, 2023 In October 2022, during the 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping was “reelected” as the party’s chairman, paving his way for a third term as China’s top political leader. Read More
Podcast Back to the Moon January 18, 2023 Just over half a century since Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the lunar surface, a new space race to the Moon is well underway and rapidly gaining momentum. Read More
Podcast An excerpt from The Aesthetic Cold War January 17, 2023 In “Africa and Her Writers,” a feisty Chinua Achebe begins by proclaiming, “Art for art’s sake is just another piece of deodorized dog shit.” The joke, of course, comes at high modernism’s expense, and he was neither the first nor the last figure from decolonizing regions of the world to rail against writing for a privileged few. Read More
Essay On the misuse of legacy: The Struggle for the People’s King January 14, 2023 On a humid day in late August 2010, the right-wing Tea Party activist and Fox News television host Glenn Beck held a rally to “Restore Honor” at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Read More
Podcast Listen in: Queer Career January 13, 2023 Workplaces have traditionally been viewed as “straight spaces” in which queer people passed. As a result, historians have directed limited attention to the experiences of queer people on the job. Read More
Essay Flipping failure January 09, 2023 “Failing big” has been much in the news—it’s part of an exciting strategy that also includes “move fast and break things” and “no risk, no reward!” But what about failing small? Read More
Podcast Listen in: What Do You Want Out of Life? January 06, 2023 What do you want out of life? To make a lot of money—or work for justice? To run marathons—or sing in a choir? To have children—or travel the world? The things we care about in life—family, friendship, leisure activities, work, our moral ideals—often conflict, preventing us from doing what matters most to us. Read More
Video PUP Speaks: Karen Greenberg on the long legacy from 9/11 to 1/6 January 05, 2023 The events of both September 11, 2001 and January 6, 2021 were unprecedented in our nation’s history. In this video from Karen Greenberg, we can see how increased secrecy and decreased accountability within American politics post 9/11 fostered a political climate in which Trumpism was able to thrive. Read More