Ad for children's aspirin.

‘Candy Aspirin,’ Safety Caps, and the History of Children’s Drugs

The development, use, and marketing of medications for children in the 20th century.

How the C-Section Went From Last Resort to Overused

Today, 1 in 3 American babies are delivered via the procedure, twice what the World Health Organization recommends.

How George S. Patton Took on the Lava with Bombs

In 1935, as lava from Mauna Loa advanced on Hilo, the not-yet-famous Army general was called to the rescue.
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Henrietta Lacks, Immortalized

Henrietta Lacks's "immortal" cell line, called "HeLa," is used in everything from cancer treatments to vaccines.

The Surprising History (and Future) of Fingerprints

Our identity is mapped at our fingertips, but also, maybe, our individual fate.

Why the Name of the President’s Fitness Council Matters

And why would President Trump bother to change the name?

The Internet Women Made

Claire L. Evans’s new book is a bittersweet reminder that the internet used to be freer and more fun.

Fossilized Human Footprint Found Nestled in a Giant Sloth Footprint

An incredibly preserved set of tracks tell the story of an ancient hunt.

Are Our Genes Really Our Fate?

DNA’s visual culture and the construction of genetic truth.

How a Soviet A-Bomb Test Led the U.S. Into Climate Science

The untold story of a failed Russian geoengineering scheme, panic in the Pentagon, and a Nixon-era effort to study global cooling.

Solved: A Decades-Old Ansel Adams Mystery

The answer was hidden in the shadows.

Haunted by History

War, famine and persecution inflict profound changes on bodies and brains. Could these changes persist over generations?

The Turn-of-the-Century Pigeons That Photographed Earth from Above

In 1907, a patent application for the pigeon camera was submitted.

The Dot-Coms Were Better Than Facebook

Twenty years ago, another high-profile tech executive testified before Congress. It was a more innocent time.

Abortion in Pre-Roe South Carolina

Uncovering Charleston's "backstreet" abortion networks.
Ad for children's medicine.

How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic

What the first opioid epidemic can teach us about the second.
An engraving of a Native American group featuring a chief speaking to a group of men as women prepare cassina next to him and Europeans spectate on the other side.

The Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

Yaupon tea, a botanical cousin to yerba maté, is now almost unknown.

Sam Harris, Charles Murray, and the Allure of Race Science

This is not "forbidden knowledge." It is America’s most ancient justification for bigotry and racial inequality.

How The Sacrifices of Black Civil War Troops Advanced Medicine

A new museum exhibit in Philadelphia showcases the first public health record of African Americans.
Portrait of Charles Knowlton
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Charles Knowlton, the Father of American Birth Control

Decades after Charles Knowlton died, his book would be credited with reversing population growth in England and the popularization of contraception in the U.S.

Canned Food History

A conversation with Anna Zeide about her book, “Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry.”

The Right Way to Remember Rachel Carson

She did not write her most famous work until late in life. Until then, she thought of herself as a poet of the sea.

The Unwelcome Revival of ‘Race Science’

Its defenders claim to be standing up for uncomfortable truths, but race science is still as bogus as ever.
Female medics during the 1918 pandemic.

How the Devastating 1918 Flu Pandemic Helped Advance US Women's Rights

With many men 'missing' from the population in the aftermath of the 1918 flu, women stepped into public roles that hadn't previously been open to them.
Crop duster flies low over a field.
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The Real Scandal at the EPA? It’s Not Keeping Us Safe.

Instead of banning dangerous pesticides, the EPA is actually loosening the rules on who can use them.

The Jet Engine Is a Futuristic Technology Stuck in the Past

Rockets and turbofans have promised to realize dreams of transportation progress—for decades.

The Last Scan

Inside the desperate fight to keep old TVs alive.
Goosefoot plant.

Hunting for the Ancient Lost Farms of North America

2,000 years ago, people domesticated these plants. Now they’re wild weeds. What happened?

Medical Mystery: James Madison's Sudden Collapse

The Father of the U.S. Constitution fought a life-long physical battle, too.
Delegation of African officials confront archival boxes and human skulls.

The Troubling Origins of the Skeletons in a New York Museum

The effort to repatriate the remains of thousands of Herero people slaughtered by German colonists at the turn of the century.