WEIRD HISTORY
The numbers for Wikipedia tell a story of change – and stress. Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images – By Ryan McGrady, Senior Research Fellow, Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, UMass Amherst Published: 2026 Jun 25 – This year, Wikipedia is celebrating 25 …
‘Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States,’ painted by Howard Chandler Christy in 1940. U.S. Capitol via Wikimedia Commons – By Peter C. Mancall, Distinguished Professor and Professor of the Humanities, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Published: …
The remains of ‘The Prince’ of Arene Candide in the archeological museum of Pegli, Italy. Our ability to use symbolic materials in order to tackle complex emotions, like processing loss, stretches back at least 27,500 years. (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons) – By Layla …
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought’s agency is behind this drive to shake up federal grantmaking. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images – By Mirae Kim, Associate Professor of Nonprofit Studies, George Mason University Published: 2026 Jun 15 – The federal government provides grants …
The SpiderCam is inspired by the two primary eyes of the jumping spider. Depositphotos – By Shirl Leigh 2026 Jun 19 – A new 3D camera inspired by jumping spiders’ eyes may well be found in the next generation of battery-operated wearable tech, assistive …
Students and teachers pose outside a National Freedmen’s Bureau school in Beaufort, S.C., in 1865. Corbis/Getty Images – By Rodney Coates, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Miami University Published: 2026 Jun 16 – The abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass is known for …
People wear traditional clothes as they celebrate St. John’s Day and the Summer Solstice in Kernave, Lithuania, on 2024 Jun 23. AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis – By Thomas A. DuBois, Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison Published: 2026 Jun 17 …
What’s driving electric utility companies to merge? jayk7/Moment via Getty Images – By Conor Harrison, Associate Professor of Economic Geography, University of South Carolina Published: 2026 Jun 16 – A corporate merger that would form the largest electric utility in the United States is …
A sign on a dirt hiking trail in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska points to naturalist John Muir’s cabin. Wanderluster/iStock/Getty Images – By Mariah Meek, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University And by Travis Belote, Assistant Professor of Landscape Ecology, …
As ocean temperatures rise during El Niño, fish can find themselves in hot water. Geoff Trodd/Unsplash – By Dillon Amaya, Climate Research Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Published: 2026 Jun 12 – It’s official: El Niño is back. By late fall 2026, forecast …
