fires
How Does an Archaeologist Keep Heritage Sites Safe From Wildfires?
It involves Twitter, maps, dozer lines, and luck.
All Stories
soda
Minnesota's 'Root Beer Lady' Lived Alone in a Million-Acre Wilderness
The "loneliest woman in America" brewed root beer for thousands of visitors.
hermits
Ivo Zdarsky Is Waiting Out the End Times in His Own Utah Ghost Town
The Iron Curtain escapee, DIY aviator, and thriving entrepreneur is ready for anything.
masks
Indigenous Artists Are Reclaiming Masks as a Source of Storytelling and Strength
Bringing together traditional materials and modern messages.
fires
What Wildfire Archaeology Tells Us About the Burning American West
Archaeologists in New Mexico are studying past wildfires through tree rings and pottery sherds.
wildlife
Acorn Woodpeckers Have Multi-Day Wars, and Birds Come From All Around to Watch
A window into complex avian sociopolitical lives.
food
The Detective on the Case of the Perfect Hot Tamale
In the Mississippi Delta, a tragedy inspired Charles Sledge, police detective, down a tamale-making path.
suffrage
These Powerful Pins Honored Suffragists Who Were 'Jailed for Freedom'
A century ago, women picketing the White House were beaten and imprisoned for demanding their right to vote.
coal
The End of Centralia's Abandoned, Colorful, Anarchic 'Graffiti Highway'
First the fractured stretch of road became a canvas, then a gathering place. Now it will become forest.
midwest
Inside the Midwest's State Fair Historical Recipe Contest
From biscuits to cherry pie, these award-winning dishes tell family stories dating back to the 1800s.
salt
The Ghost Towns of Lake Urmia, Once West Asia's Largest Lake
Ships, farms, and hotels were left high and dry when 90 percent of the water disappeared.
lichen
When Prehistoric Lacewings Disguised Themselves as Middle-Jurassic Lichens
Researchers recently found evidence of some very, very old camouflage.
tourism
Japan Is Combating Rural Decline With a National Network of Ice Cream
Flavors include apple, blue honeysuckle, and black squid ink.
genetics
Found: The Rare Singing Dogs of New Guinea, In the Wild
The distant cousin of the dingo had been hiding out in the island’s highlands.
lightning
Can America’s Premier Lightning Lab Revive Its Renegade Spirit?
“We want to continue triggering lightning. We’re in no way done with that.”
rap
For Sale: Biggie's Crown, and Other Icons of Hip-Hop History
There's lots to intrigue West Coasters, too.
seed banks
Centuries After Their Loss and Theft, Native American Seeds Are Reuniting With Their Tribes
They are being recovered from seed banks, university vaults, and museum shelves.
anarchy
The Hoax Book That Became an Anarchist and Hippie Bible
'The Papalagi'—supposedly written by a Samoan chief in 1920—offered a societal critique, but carried on a problematic racial trope.
