Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in The North American Sylva by François André Michaux. Illustration by Henri-Joseph Redouté, 1819.

Tradition in Turmoil: Sugar Maple and Climate Change

With harvests dependent on the spring freeze-thaw cycle, the maple industry is seeking ways to mitigate damage wrought by a changing climate.
Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters glue themselves to barrels outside the Treasury on April 07, 2022 in London, England.

Who Can Just Stop Oil?

Groups such as Just Stop Oil are calling for change, but their aims need to be considered with respect to more than a reductionist slogan.
A woman proffers a jug of ale to a man in the street from her 'house of shame', in an allegorical 19th century woodcut.

A Pint for the Alewives

Until the Plague decimated Europe and reconfigured society, brewing beer and selling it was chiefly the domain of the fairer sex.
Charles Nelson of Hoxton in East London has been working as a 'knocker-up' for 25 years. He wakes up early morning workers such as doctors, market traders and drivers.

Who and What Was a Knocker-Upper?

Pour one out for the people paid to rouse the workers of industrial Britain.
A botanical illustration of Indigofera tinctoria from La botanique de J.J. Rousseau, 1805

Plant of the Month: Indigo

The cultivation of this plant for its cherished blue dye tells the story of exploitative agricultural practices—and, hopefully, its reversal.
Menorah

How Hanukkah Became “Jewish Christmas”

For most of the Jewish world, Hanukkah is a minor holiday. What happened in America?
Bodcaw Bank

Are Regulations Killing the Small Community Bank in America?

Will regulations aimed at large, investment-oriented banks kill the "It’s a Wonderful Life" promise of the American community bank?