April 23, 2018
The History of the Shariʿa
How Islam’s divine law emerged, evolved, and spread—then reached a crisis point.
Read MoreAugust 4, 2025
April 23, 2018
How Islam’s divine law emerged, evolved, and spread—then reached a crisis point.
Read MoreApril 19, 2018
The author of The Library reads novels for inspiration.
Read MoreApril 18, 2018
For a historical figure who seemed to be everywhere, there is startlingly little written about this Renaissance woman.
Read MoreApril 16, 2018
It takes a lot of work, but the internet helps.
Read MoreApril 13, 2018
Fair housing, darts, and the meaning (or not) of unibrows.
Read MoreApril 12, 2018
The author of The Second Coming of the KKK shows an early twentieth-century attempt to go mainstream.
Read MoreApril 11, 2018
Tracing the evolution of an emotion through ancient literature.
Read More2023:
Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.
c. 1850:
Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.
2023:
Writers on strike search for romance at the picket line.
c. 1945:
Young communists engage in party matchmaking.