Profs and Pints has expanded online using the Crowdcast platform to further democratize access to higher learning and provide people access to high-quality scholarly talks while social distancing. Below are both a schedule of upcoming talks and an archive where you can access to the recordings of great talks that you might have missed.
Upcoming Talks
Recorded talks available for viewing
(Listed in chronological order, oldest to newest)
Children were terrified on ending up in iron lungs during the 1953 polio epidemic. (Photo from Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, Downey, California.)
Epidemics in American History
with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University and former professorial lecturer of history at American University. (This talk remains free, but please share with friends to tell them about Profs and Pints Online.)
New York City's Deputy Police Commissioner
John A. Leach, right, watches agents waste good liquor on the city's rats following a raid.
(Library of Congress photo.)
Speaking of Speakeasies
a discussion of prohibition and its boozy effects, with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University and former professorial lecturer of history at American University.
Social distancing will be difficult in slums such as this one in Kenya, where droughts linked to climate change have exacerbated poverty and fueled migration from the countryside to cities. (Photo by Claudio Allia.)
Coronavirus and
Climate Change
with Olufemi Taiwo, assistant professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and scholar of postcolonialism and issues related to environmental justice.
Asian Americans were involved with the Black Panther Party in a period when social movements conceived of identity in broader terms.
How the Elite Captured Identity Politics
with Olufemi Táíwò , assistant professor of political philosophy and ethics at Georgetown University and scholar of activism and the black radical tradition.
Some of us complain about "herding cats," but the Norwegian goddess Freya managed to get cats to pull her chariot.
Folkloric Felines
a look at cats in folklore and fairy tales, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at The Ohio State University and co-founders of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
The political power of John D. Rockefeller was the target of this Horace Taylor cartoon published in The Verdict, a magazine from his era.
Make America
Gilded Again?
a look at America’s “Gilded Age” and how it compares to our current time, with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University and former professorial lecturer of history at American University.
Five-Way Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 1917. (National Portrait Gallery.)
The Art of
Marcel Duchamp
with Lisa Lipinski, assistant professor of art history at the George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and teacher of a graduate art history seminar on Duchamp and his legacy there.
Silk Road explorer Aurel Stein and his team in the Taklamakan Desert, 1908. M. Aurel Stein, Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, vol. 2 (London: Macmillan, 1912)
Meet the Real
Indiana Jones
with Justin M. Jacobs, associate professor of history at American University and author of Indiana Jones in History: From Pompeii to the Moon.
A soldier stands guard on the corner of 7th & N Street NW in Washington D.C. near smoldering buildings destroyed during the 1968 unrest over the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Urban Uprisings
Then and Now
with Ashley Howard, assistant professor of history and African American studies at the University of Iowa, former assistant professor of history at Loyola University New Orleans, and scholar of urban unrest in the 1960s.
Police patrol Ferguson, Missouri, during protests over the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by a police officer. (Photo by Jamelle Bouie.)
On the Abolition of Police
with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, assistant professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and scholar of activism, anti-colonial thought, and the Black Radical Tradition.
Lin-Manuel Miranda in the title role of his musical Hamilton, April 20, 2016.
(Photo by Steve Jurvetson.)
Hamilton’s History Remix
a critical look at the musical and the people and events it depicts, with Richard Bell, associate professor of history at the University of Maryland. (Talk on sale for $10. Ticket sales have been suspended pending several live staging of this talk.)
The May 2017 removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Lee Circle in New Orleans. (Wikimedia Commons.)
Monumental Controversies
with Fred Bohrer, professor of art and archaeology at Hood College, art historian, and creator of the website Monumental Anxiety: An Anti-Guide to the Monuments of Washington, D.C.
From a portrait of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton painted by Ralph Earl in 1787. (Museum of the City of New York.)
The Women of Hamilton
with Cassandra Good, assistant professor of history at Marymount University and author of Founding Friendships: Friendships Between Men and Women in the Early American Republic.
“Tartini's Dream,” an 1894 illustration by
Louis Léopold Boilly of the legend behind Giuseppe Tartini's “Devil's Trill Sonata.”
Speak of the Devil
a discussion of Satan over the ages, with Mikki Brock, associate professor of history at W & L University and scholar of demonology, witchcraft, and early modern Scotland.
Image taken from "Am Not I a Man and a Brother," by an unknown artist. Design commissioned by the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787.
How Scientists Begat Racism
with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University's College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University's Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
George Washington, who served as president of the Constitutional Convention, is shown among slaves at Mount Vernon in this 1853 lithograph based on a painting by Junius Brutus Stearns. (Library of Congress.)
The Wickedness of the Three-Fifths Clause
a deep dive into the troubling hidden history of the 1787 federal Constitution, with Rick Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland.
Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy faces murder charges in a Miami courtroom in 1979. ( Photo by Donn Dughi / Florida Memory Project. )
Exploring the
Psychopathic Brain
with Dean Haycock, neurobiologist, former instructor at Brown University, and author of Murderous Minds, Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain.
Both nature and nurture shape relations between the sexes, but exactly how and how much they do so might surprise you.
Sex, Misogyny and Evolution
with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University's College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University's Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
Game theory can help you make the right move in checkers and in real life.
Survival Through Math
an introduction to game theory as a tool for navigating crises, with Anna Weltman, former graduate instructor at the University of California at Berkeley and author of Supermath: The Power of Mathematics For Good and Evil.
Minnesota State Police troopers patrol in response to unrest following the killing of George Floyd. (Photo by Tony Webster.)
On Defunding the Police
an introduction to the concepts of police defunding and police abolition, with Alex S. Vitale, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and author of The End of Policing.
A rare Saint Francis Satyr butterfly, found almost entirely on a military base in North Carolina. (Photo by USGS Bee Inventory and
Monitoring Lab )
Rescuing Rare Butterflies
with Nick Haddad, who researches butterflies as a professor of integrative biology at Michigan State University and senior terrestrial ecologist at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and is the author of The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature.
An image from a World War I propaganda
poster that encouraged rationing.
A History of
American Dining
or what we can learn from our nation’s past in a time of culinary crisis, with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University and former professorial lecturer of history at American University.
A photo of unidentified origin commonly circulated to illustrate the creepy online folktale “The Expressionless.”
Slenderman and Other Internet Folklore
with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at The Ohio State University and co-founders of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
The shelves of a supermarket in Franklin Farm, Virginia, after it was cleared out by panic-buying in March. (Photo by Famartin / Wikipedia Commons. Alteration with framing shadows by Profs and Pints.)
Meltdown on Aisle Twenty
look at panic-buying, hostility to outsiders, and other evolved responses to crises, with Stephanie D. Preston, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.
The Me Too movement has brought more attention to sexual assault, but the criminal justice system remains a fraught place for victims seeking redress. Can restorative justice be a better option for them? (Photo by surdumihail / Pixabay)
Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault
with Lara Bazelon, law professor and director of the criminal and juvenile justice and racial justice clinics at the University of San Francisco and author of Rectify: The Power of Restorative Justice After Wrongful Conviction.
John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon following their nationally televised debate on Sept. 26, 1960. (Associated Press photo.)
The Debate of the Century
a look at how Kennedy vs. Nixon changed American presidential politics, with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University and former professorial lecturer of history at American University.
A full moon over the Chinese city of Xi'an. Can you see the moon goddess or the jade rabbit? (Photo by Dave Morrow).
A Feast of China's Lore
an autumnal exploration of the Chinese tradition’s myths, folktales, and Moon Festival, with Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States and frequent lecturer on Chinese culture.
The forces of good and evil clash on the side of Notre Dame cathedral.
Humans—Naturally
Good, or Bad?
with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University’s College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University’s Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
The official portrait of the U.S. Supreme Court going into its session that began October 5, 2020 was taken before the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, shown seated in the front row, second from left. (Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States.)
Supreme Court at a Crossroads
with David Fontana, professor of law at the George Washington University, scholar of the Supreme Court, and frequent writer on constitutional issues.
A 1944 picture of members of the Maquis, a subset of the French Resistance that included socialists, communists, and anarchists. (Photo by Donald I. Grant, Department of National Defence, Canada / Collection of Library and Archives Canada )
The Origins of Antifa
with Mark Bray, lecturer in history at Rutgers University, political organizer, and author of Antifa and Translating Anarchy.
“Wheat Field,” a 1919 painting of the Battle of Belleau Wood by Frank Schoonover.
The Battle of Belleau Wood
a discussion of courage and sacrifice in the summer of 1918, with Edward Lengel, chief historian of the National Medal of Honor Museum, former professor at the University of Virginia, and author of several books on World War I military history.
Young African American people gathered at a Black Lives Matter protest. (Photo by Orna Wachman / Pixabay )
Black Votes as Swing Votes
an assumption-shattering look at the political behavior of young African Americans, with David Barker, professor of government and director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
George Washington and his cabinet: Secretary of War Henry Knox, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Lithograph by Currier and Ives. (Library of Congress.)
Inside Presidents' Cabinets
a look at the role of advising the highest office, with Lindsay Chervinsky, scholar of the presidency and professorial lecturer at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.
A mural painted on the walls of a Buddhist monastery in Thailand depicts a monk meditating on a corpse. (Photo by Justin McDaniel.)
Horror in the East
a look at truly frightening Buddhist beliefs and rituals, with Justin McDaniel, professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the Penn Ghost Project, and former Buddhist monk.
The devil baptizes a sorcerer as others await their turn in this engraving from the 1626 Compendium Maleficarum, by Francesco Maria Guazzo of Italy.
The War on Warlocks
a look at the hunt for male witches in early modern France, with Thomas Rushford, professor of history at Northern Virginia Community College and scholar of witch trials in France and England.
Edgar Allan Poe, as depicted in a drawing made from a daguerreotype by Mathew Brady. (National Archives at College Park.)
Poe's Mastery of Horror
with Hal Poe, professor of faith and culture at Union University, former president of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum of Richmond, and author of Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to his Tell-Tale Stories and Evermore: Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe.
An image from the 1922 German expressionist film Nosferatu, which was directed by F. W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok.
When Vampires Arose
with Bruce McClelland, former instructor at the University of Virginia and author of Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead.
A 1518 painting by Johann Jakob Wick of three witches being burned in Baden, Switzerland.
What Sparked
Witch Burnings
a look at the origins of Europe and North America's witch trials, with Richard Kieckhefer, professor of religious studies and history at Northwestern University and author of European Witch Trials and Magic in the Middle Ages.
Joan of Arc's death at the stake, as depicted as part of an 1843 triptych by Hermann Stilke.
Gods, Evolution, Conspiracies, and Belief
a biology-based look at how humans have long made sense of their worlds, with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University’s College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University’s Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
Friend or foe? How can we be sure?
Dreams of Intelligent Machines
a look at the big questions posed by the emergence of artificial intelligence, with Colin Allen, professor of history and philosophy of science and adjunct in the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Icelandic troll Grýla simply loves children—for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This Icelandic statue depicts her next to the pot that she uses to cook her meals.
You Better Watch Out
a look at terrifying holiday folklore around the world, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
An illustration of the Christmas truce accompanying coverage of it in the January 9, 1915 edition of
The Illustrated London News.
The Christmas Truce of 1914
an examination of an extraordinary silent night in World War I, with Simon Jones, a historian and battlefield guide who has written books about the war and taught courses on it at Liverpool and Leicester Universities.
A Kay Nielsen illustration from a 1922 edition of the Norwegian fairy tale collection East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North.
Wintery Fairy Tales
an evening among ghosts, snow queens, and friendly bears, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
Children at a sledding party.
(Photo by Steven Depolo / Creative Commons )
Children, Play, and the Pandemic
a look at child friendships in a time of social distancing, with Julie Wargo Aikins, child clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University.
American soldiers return Tet Offensive gunfire.
(Photo by Ken Pollard, 221st Signal Co.)
The Tet Offensive
(A 360-Degree View)
with Erik Villard, military historian, former instructor at the University of Washington, and author of Staying the Course: U.S. Army Combat Operations in Vietnam, Oct. 1967 to Sept. 1968.
One of the biographical profiles available at Enslaved.org.
Encountering the Enslaved
a look behind the data at Enslaved.org, a groundbreaking effort to bring to light the lives of individuals in the transatlantic slave trade, with Daryle Williams, history professor at the University of Maryland and co-principal investigator for this open-source database project.
The movie poster for the re-release of the original Star Wars. (20th Century Fox.)
Folklore Strikes Back
a look at how folklore influenced Star Wars and the fan culture that arose around it, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
Mark Wahlberg wasn't born with what he displayed in Boogie Nights. In fact, it had been strapped onto him sometime that day. (Screen capture of Boogie Nights from New Line Cinema.)
Exposing Leading Men's Parts
a look at the changing role of male genitalia in Hollywood movies, with Peter Lehman, professor emeritus of film and media studies at Arizona State University and author of Running Scared: Masculinity and The Representation of the Male Body, Expanded Edition.
Philadelphia as depicted in a 1770 print by Balthasar Friedrich Leizelt (Library of Congress).
Colonial Philly's Organized Chaos
a look at the city's progression from mob-ruled to model for a new nation, with Jessica Chopin Roney, associate professor of history at Temple University and author of Governed by a Spirit of Opposition: The Origins of American Political Practice in Colonial Philadelphia.
You can get from Venezuela to some distant islands to the north just by drifting several days on a raft, but strong winds and currents rendered much closer islands to its east unreachable to those who needed to paddle.
Retracing Ancient
Caribbean Voyages
a look at how the first peoples of that region found and settled its islands, with Scott M. Fitzpatrick, professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon and leader of numerous archeological digs on islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Floyd Collins, who had sought to maintain tourist attractions in life, became one in death. Here a sign directs tourists to the cave where his body was displayed. (National Park Service photo.)
Trapped in the Earth
a look at a failed 1925 cave rescue that transfixed and inspired America, with Alyssa Warrick, public historian and former guide at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
A girl being inoculated against typhoid in 1944. (Photo by John Vachon for the United States Farm Security Administration.)
Infections, Vaccines, Evolution and Medicine
with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University’s College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University’s Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
An illustration of Snow White by the German artist Alexander Zick, from roughly 1900.
Happily Ever After?
a look at what fairy tales actually say about love, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
In the fairy tale The Robber Bridegroom, the bride-to-be is warned by a caged bird outside the bridegroom's door, “Turn back, turn back, thou bonnie bride. Nor in this house of death abide.” (Illustration by Walter Crane from the 1886 edition of Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm/ Macmillan and Company.)
Frightful
Fairy-Tale Weddings
featuring death, curses, and iron shoes, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
"The Republican Court (Lady Washington's Reception Day)." Painting by Daniel Huntington
(Brooklyn Museum).
Founding Fathers in the “Friend Zone”
with Cassandra Good, assistant professor of history at Marymount University and author of Founding Friendships: Friendships Between Men and Women in the Early American Republic.
“Bedroom in Arles,” by Vincent van Gogh (
Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam).
What We Did in Bed
a look at the little-known history of the place where we spend a third of our lives, with archaeologist Brian Fagan, distinguished emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara and author of What We Did in Bed: A Horizontal History.
From an 1803 portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart. (Clark Art Institute Collection.)
George Washington's Legacies
with Denver Brunsman, associate professor of history at George Washington University, lecturer at Mount Vernon, and co-author of Leading Change: George Washington and Establishing the Presidency.
A tourist atop an ancient pyramid in Mexico takes a selfie. (Photo by Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons).
Our Social Media Posts, Ourselves
a provocative look at how our identities get packaged and consumed online, by Jenna Drenten, associate professor of marketing at Loyola University Chicago and scholar of digital consumer culture.
Mackerel, bluefish, porgy, whiting and other fish for sale at a store in northern Virginia. (Photo by Jarek Tuszyński / Creative Commons)
Buying Sustainable Seafood
or how to shop for fish like a marine biologist, with David Shiffman, an adjunct professor at Arizona State University's Washington, D.C. Center and fisheries biologist at the Marine Stewardship Council.
“The first quadrille at Almack's,” an illustration from the 1892 book The Reminiscences and Recollections of Captain Gronow 1810-1860. (From the British Library collection.)
Romance in Bridgerton's Regency Era
with Julie Taddeo, professor of British history at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Clockwise from upper left: C.S. Lewis photographed by Arthur Strong; map of Narnia (artist unknown); Barbara Remington's map of Middle-Earth; J.R.R. Tolkien (photographer unknown); flag of Middle Earth’s Rohan (artist: Pbroks13), first editions of the authors’ works; a flag of Narnia (artist: Groteddy).
Where Middle Earth
Met Narnia
a look at how J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis together invented the genre of modern fantasy, with Hal Poe, professor of faith and culture at Union University and author of a three-volume C.S. Lewis biography.
Chess problem #35 from King Alfonso X’s of Castile’s thirteenth-century Libro de los juegos. Folio 75 verso.
How Chess Ruled the World
a look at the social and cultural history of a powerful board game, with Jenny Adams, associate professor of English at the University of Massachusetts and author of Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages.
Part of "A-maze-ing Laughter," a bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun located in a park in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Cropped and edited image from a photo taken by Cameron Norton / Wikimedia Commons.
Looking at Laughter
a serious, scholarly examination of how our brains produce and process what folks find funny, with
Janet Gibson, professor of psychology at Grinnell College and author of An Introduction to the Psychology of Humor.
A granddaughter reads to her grandmother in this image taken from a mezzotint of a painting by Arthur John Elsley. (Wellcome Trust / Wkimedia Commons.)
Can We Thwart
Aging and Death?
with Rui Diogo, associate professor of anatomy at Howard University’s College of Medicine and resource faculty member at George Washington University’s Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology.
A chromolithograph reproduction of “Boston Massacre, March 5th, 1770,” an 1855 painting by William L. Champney. (Boston Athenaeum).
The Boston Massacre's Backstory
a look at the hidden history of an event that
you probably heard mythologized in school, with Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Australian engineers at a tunnel entrance on the Western Front in 1918. (Australian War Memorial.)
World War Beneath the Earth
a deep exploration of World War I’s subterranean conflicts, with Simon Jones, historian and battlefield guide, lecturer at Liverpool and Leicester Universities, and author of Underground Warfare, 1914–1918.
Woman have come to be associated with salads (Wix stock photo on the left), while men have come to be associated with steak (shot on right by Glencliff Media / Wikimedia Commons.)
Gender Stereotypes on the Menu
a look at how Americans came to see foods as either feminine or masculine, with Paul Freedman, professor of history at Yale University and author of American Cuisine: And How It Got This Way.
Falling stars as seen from a balloon. From the 1871 book Travels in the Air, by James Glaisher. (NOAA Library Collection / Wikimedia Commons.)
Adventures of
Victorian Aeronauts
with Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history and science in society at Wesleyan University and scholar of early balloon voyages.
A machine at the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, Calif. (Photo by Michael Moore/Wikimedia Commons.)
Pinball's Wizardry
a look at the history of a beloved American pastime, with Adam Ruben, science comedian, adjunct instructor at Johns Hopkins University, and author of Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, and the Cult of the Silver Ball.
A print of magicians from the 1820 book The World in Miniature...Hindoostan, by Frederic Shoberl. Print by book publisher R. Ackerman.
A History of India's Magic
a look at the ancient origins and remarkable evolution of a venerable performance art, with Shreeyash Palshikar, an assistant professor of history at Albright College who teaches a class on magic in world history.
An image from “Proserpine” (Persephone) painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1882. (Birmingham Museums Trust / Wikimedia Commons.)
Goddess of Spring and the Underworld
an introduction to the Greek goddess Persephone
in her many incarnations, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
Sandhill cranes fly over New Mexico. (Photo by John Fowler / Wikimedia Commons.)
Spring's Bird Migrations
a guide to spotting our winged arrivals from the south and understanding how they got here, with Peter English, scholar of avian biology and behavior, bird guide, and assistant professor of biology at the University of Texas at Austin.
“The 10th Whitechapel Crime.” An 1881 Fortuné Méaulle's engraving based on a drawing by Henri Meyer in Le Journal illustré depicting one of the murders later attributed to Jack the Ripper.
True Crime's Story
a look at the sordid past of a widely followed genre, with Kris Mecholsky, scholar of crime fiction and film and administrator and English instructor at Louisiana State University.
This statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's dog, Fala, can be seen at the memorial to the past president sculpted by Neil Estern and located in Washington DC's Potomac Park.
Pets of the Presidents
with Edward Lengel, former chief historian of the White House Historical Association, former professor at the University of Virginia, and author of books such as General George Washington: A Military Life.
Image by Deepak Pal (www.iqlect.com / Creative Commons)
Turning AI into
Human Intelligence
on the quest to develop artificial intelligence that can explain its thought processes to teach us, with Forest Agostinelli, assistant professor in the AI Institute at the University of South Carolina.
The covers of issue 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, published by Archie Comics, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Play With Fire, published by Titan Comics. (Background photo by Johanna Carvajal / Wikimedia Commons.)
Modern Gothic Heroines
a look at the literary roots of Buffy, Sabrina, and other popular hell-raising women, with Miranda Wojciechowski, associate instructor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Top left: Hillary Swank as a Mars traveler in Netflix’s Away. Bottom left: A science advisor to Minority Report demonstrates a real-life version of the technology used in it. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson /Wikimedia Commons.) Right: A Léon Benett illustration of a helicopter-like device in Jules Verne’s 1886 novel Robur the Conqueror.
Our Lives in a Sci-Fi World
an in-depth look at how the literary imagination drives scientific discovery and our response to it, with Anastasia Klimchynskaya, instructor at the University of Chicago and postdoctoral fellow at its Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge.
The 2014 Electrobeach EDM festival in Port-Barcarès, France. (Photo by Alexcorp66 / Wikimedia Commons.)
The Social History of EDM
a charting of electronic dance music’s journey from deviant subculture to culture industry, with Chris Conner, visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University of Missouri and author of the forthcoming book Electric Empires: A Social History of Electronic Dance Music.
John, the Dragon, and the Beast of the Sea are portrayed in a medieval tapestry woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382. (Musée de la Tapisserie, Angers. France / Wikimedia Commons.)
The Mark of the Beast
as well as other riddles from the Book of Revelation, explained in historical context by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religion at Ferrum College and scholar of early Christian literature and apocryphal texts.
Left to right: The theatrical release poster for the film Fargo (Gramercy Pictures). To Kill a Mockingbird as released on DVD by Universal Legacy Series. An early edition of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
Fictional Figures on the Couch
an exploration of psychology through literature and film, with Dean A. Haycock, neurobiologist, former instructor at Brown University, and author of Characters on the Couch.
The 2017 “Unite the Right” rally brought large numbers of white supremacists out onto Charlottesville’s streets. (Photo by Anthony Crider / Wikimedia Commons.)
The White Supremacists Among Us
an in-depth look at their emergence and mobilization, with Robert Futrell, professor of sociology at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, researcher of political extremism and the far right, and co-author of American Swastika: Inside the U.S. White Power Movement’s Hidden Spaces of Hate.
Lake Michigan waves batter the Michigan City lighthouse after 2012's superstorm Sandy. (Photo by S. Ashley, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory / Wikimedia Commons.
How We Tamed
the Great Lakes
with Theodore Karamanski, professor of history and public history at Loyola University Chicago and author of several histories of the lakes’ exploration, navigation, commerce, and infrastructure.
From an illustration in the 1684 book The Buccaneers of America: A True Account of the Most Remarkable Assaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coasts of the West Indies by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga.
Portrait of the Pirate Captain Morgan
a look at the real figure’s legendary life and troubling legacy, with John Donoghue, an associate professor of history at Loyola University Chicago who researches colonial piracy and teaches a class on the subject.
Image of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, taken from an engraving of a 16th-century gem in the Medici Collection in the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence. (Wikimedia Commons.)
Labyrinth Lore
a mapping of tales of loss and finding, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
A Dream of a Girl Before a Sunrise, painted by Karl Bryullov around 1830. (Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts / Wikimedia Commons.)
What Dreams Are Made Of
a look at the new science of sleep and dreams, with Antonio Zadra, professor of psychology at the Université de Montréal, researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and co-author of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep.
A promotional poster for Amazon Prime’s The Underground Railroad overlaid on a map of Underground Railroad routes compiled from
Wlliam H. Siebert’s 1898 book The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom.