Why do we keep what we keep — and who decides? An archivist digs and collects longreads on how objects and materials shape public memory.
research
Posted inEditor's Pick
To Study Zika, They Offered Their Kids. Then They Were Forgotten.
“Years after agreeing to take part in research, families of children with congenital Zika syndrome are feeling abandoned.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Racist Scientist Built a Collection of Human Skulls. Should We Still Study Them?
“After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked protests for racial justice around the country, more and more people within and outside Penn began to see the Morton collection as a present-day perpetuation of racism and its harms, rather than just a historic example.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
She Fell Nearly 2 Miles, and Walked Away
“At 17, biologist Juliane Diller was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon. Fifty years later she still runs Panguana, a research station founded by her parents in Peru.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How to Map Nothing
“What if we took each sourdough selfie, each Zoom class, each Peloton ride, each Netflix binge and mapped the ecology of resources and services that have made it possible for some of us? And at the same time impossible for others?” On pandemic maps and the Great Pause.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Crimson Klan
Exploring the history of the Ku Klux Klan’s presence at Harvard University.
Posted inQuotes
Is the Cure for Cancer Locked in Shrunken Heads from the Amazon?
Could shrunken heads from the Amazon hold the key to curing cancer?
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Social Life of Forests
“Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another?”
Posted inStory
Behind the Writing: On Research
Sarah Menkedick speaks with Leslie Jamison, Carina Chocano, and Elena Passarello on the art of research.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why Are Humans So Curious?
Mario Livio on his new book about human curiosity, his work as an astrophysicist, and why we shouldn’t fear our expanding universe.