“Napalm Girl”
September 20, 2021
Tarleton Gillespie— Titled The Terror of War but more commonly known as “Napalm Girl,” the 1972 Pulitzer Prize–winning photo by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut is perhaps the most indelible… READ MORE
Category: Science
Nineteenth-Century Smartphones?
September 17, 2021
Laura Forsberg— It is a truism, by this point, that smartphones have revolutionized our lives. In less than fifteen years, we have developed new ways of communicating with friends and… READ MORE
The Problem of Resources in Early Modern Times
September 6, 2021
Henry Kamen— Among the most serious environmental issues in preindustrial Europe was that of the disappearance of forests, which had at one time covered the greater part of the land… READ MORE
Becoming Organic in the Himalayas
August 13, 2021
Shaila Seshia Galvin— These days, the word organic typically conjures notions of food that is natural, pure, and ecologically produced. Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of organic agriculture,… READ MORE
The Voice Catchers
August 12, 2021
Joseph Turow— Public attention to the voice industry has centered primarily on smart speakers. Dubbed “voice first” devices by marketers, these are cylinders (or more recently other shapes) that sometimes… READ MORE
Mark Catesby’s Illuminated Natural History
August 5, 2021
“It is now so warm that I am in only my Shirt and the Frogs are in full Tune.” —Mark Catesby in South Carolina and the Caribbean, 1722-26 Henrietta McBurney–… READ MORE
Invasive Mice and Engineered Genes
August 2, 2021
W.M. Adams and K.H. Redford— On Gough Island, a steep speck of land deep in the South Atlantic, giant mice eat albatross chicks as they sit on their nests. They… READ MORE
Geology of Beaches and Barrier Islands
July 23, 2021
Patrick J. Lynch— The outstanding feature of the Middle Atlantic Coast is a segment of the world’s longest string of barrier islands, with the sounds and bays that separate these… READ MORE
The Amazing, Hidden Early Life of Coral Reef Creatures
July 16, 2021
Peter F. Sale— Coral reefs are strewn across the tropical ocean like so many pearls from a broken necklace. Some are barely a few hundred meters from other reefs, but… READ MORE
How I Got My Asteroid
June 15, 2021
Martin Elvis— Changing your line of work late in your career is a refreshing thing to do. I worked for decades helping to decipher the mysteries of how giant black… READ MORE
Space Day Reading List 2024