Scientists look to “probiotics” for crops as a new green revolution in agriculture. The post Better Farming Through Endophytes appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

The term “white trash” once was used to disparage poor white people. In the Civil Rights era, its meaning shifted to support business-friendly racial politics. The post Defining “White Trash” appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

Anne Sebba chronicles how the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz survived the death camps and considers the role of music amidst genocide. | Lit Hub History Jerome Charyn recommends books that capture the art of defining a diva by Joyce Carol Oates, Josephine Baker, Allegra Kent, and more. | Lit Hub Reading Lists “Her best works—across

One evening in early 1944, four emaciated young women, attempting to rouse themselves from their grim prison conditions, began a secret performance of Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata in the cold and cramped barrack that also served as their dormitory, practice room, eating place and parcel depot. Although the piece was originally written for solo piano, it

Emily Mason knew the importance of documenting a life, specifically an artist’s life. The first time I met her was when we were putting together a monograph on her mother, the abstract artist Alice Trumbull Mason. “This book was conceived as a tribute to my mother’s life and a testament to the perseverance of her

Being Black in America offers inexhaustible ways to die. I almost met my death one night in the summer of 2017 when I was awakened by a crushing pressure in my chest. It felt like someone had jammed a beach ball inside of me, pumped it to the verge of exploding, and then pumped it

Consider this a public service announcement: digging around in boxes in your grandma’s house brings certain risks. You might, for example, come upon an old newspaper clipping detailing the discovery of old diaries that document the sex life of your great-great-great-great grandfather. Then you’ll forever know that on March 3, 1819, someone named Celia put

I had never dreamed of writing about divas until I happened upon Maria by Callas (2017), a French documentary by Tom Volf, a filmmaker unknown to me. Of course, I knew about Callas and her epic tug of war with Jacqueline Kennedy, the most celebrated widow in the world, over the charms of shipping tycoon,

A body, from a body, from a body, from a body. Trans-generational grief engenders both tenderness and bitterness. Since their incarceration during the Japanese Internment, my grandfather, his sister, and their mother have processed this trauma in ways that have affected my mother and me. Each of us have broken some cycle; all of these

My dream had seemed so real that I found it hard to dismiss it as one, even though that was the simplest and most logical explanation, and the one I eventually found myself obliged to accept. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder, like I did every time I woke from a dream this vivid: what

This is Thresholds, a series of conversations with writers about experiences that completely turned them upside down, disoriented them in their lives, changed them, and changed how and why they wanted to write. Hosted by Jordan Kisner, author of the essay collection Thin Places. Thresholds is a co-production between Black Mountain Institute and Literary Hub *

Only Murders in the Building, Tempest, and Alien: Earth are just a few of the shows you should be watching on Hulu this month.

Nobel Laureates Annie Ernaux, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and J.M.G. Le Clézio are among a group of twenty prominent writers who have signed a public letter to President Emmanuel Macron urging the immediate resumption of France’s evacuation program for Palestinian scholars, artists, and writers in Gaza. Since its founding in 2017, the PAUSE program has provided visas

The walking simulator, launching September 23 on PlayStation and Steam, stars a jobless 35-year-old “privileged, white male” whose pride stops him from getting help.

Well-researched stories from Sapiens, Smithsonian Magazine, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. The post Western Photos, Dirty Gold, and Life on Mars appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

Labeling the undead figures in non-European mythology, popular culture, and academia as “vampires” doesn’t make sense. The post A Multiculturalism of the Undead appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

The astrology-like system uses birth dates to break people into personality types and even find love and riches. From sleeping arrangements to diets, some are taking it very seriously.

Raised in a family of storytellers, Augusta Baker continued that tradition, imparting a love of books to readers of all ages. The post The Legendary Children’s Librarian of Harlem appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

The Hausa people of northern Nigeria have adapted—and continue to transform—sacred Islamic calligraphy that originated in the Arab world. The post Islamic Calligraphy in West Africa appeared first on JSTOR Daily.

These are WIRED’s picks for some of the most urgent and unsettling films from the 50th annual Toronto International Film Festival.