What Frederick Douglass asked of America
In the summer of 1852, the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society invited the country’s most famous former slave to deliver what has come to be called the…
Category: Seasonal
The founder who actually freed all slaves
As part of its preparations for America’s 250th anniversary, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has elevated the story of a forgotten Virginia planter…
Swipe right for wrinkles
Beauty influencers have found their newest enemy, and their newest cash cow. A recent Wall Street Journal report spotlighted the growing panic over “tech…
Progress on organ transplant offers hope
More than 100,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant. Thirteen of them will die today. The math has never worked: there are simply…
Sweden’s midsummer secret
Every June, Swedes celebrate Midsummer with maypole dancing, pickled herring, aquavit, and a skinny dip at night. Tradition also calls for placing seven…
The ocean is fighting bacK
June is National Ocean Month, and for once there is genuinely good news to report. The High Seas Treaty, a landmark international agreement to protect…
Drones are coming, too Plan now: America 250 fireworks are going to be massive
Forget everything you know about backyard bottle rockets. On Saturday, July 4, 2026, the United States turns a full 250 years old, and we are going to…
America 250: The Smithsonian comes to you
For most of its history, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has meant one thing: a trip to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This year it means…
Father’s Day was a tough sell
Mother’s Day became a national holiday in 1914. Father’s Day? Not until 1972. It wasn’t for lack of trying. When Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington,…
A Raccoon’s Excellent Adventure
It started innocuously enough. A raccoon in Ashland, Virginia found a gap in the ceiling of a state liquor store, squeezed through, and helped himself…