Learning about story craft from “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”
What can a bad movie from 27 years ago teach us about how stories and characters work?
The Verge
The New York City Draft/Race Riots and “Gangs of New York” (Repost).
On July 13, 1863, the worst episode of racial violence in American history turned New York into a charnel house.
A bug-free summer and its ominous implications.
Notice fewer insects around this summer? Yeah, there's a reason for that, and it's terrifying.
Whaling in the 19th century, by the numbers: A quantitative look at maritime history.
Take a look at a genuine list of all the stuff the operators of New Bedford's whaling fleet bought in 1858 to outfit their ships.
Sweltering in the Old World: The European heat wave of 2003.
A horrifying heat wave in Europe in 2003 killed as many people as the Hiroshima bomb.
The legacy of Watergate in 2026: Does it still mean anything?
Does the vast scale of more recent Presidential wrongdoing mean Nixon's scandal is irrelevant?
Interiors: Crew quarters aboard the Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien.
This room shows that, in addition to being a museum piece, this is also a functional ship.