Dates Hanging from Date Palm

Dates: Civilization’s Sweetest Indulgence

Offshoots from the “Tree of Life” traveled from Mesopotamia to the Levant to the United States, beguiling everyone with their toothsome confections.
New York City, the beach street dumping barge, 1866

A History of Garbage

The history of garbage dumps is the history of America.
Collage of books

What We’re Reading 2021

Mini book reports from your favorite bloggers and editors here at JSTOR Daily.
Freeways in Los Angeles

The Permanent Crisis of Infrastructure

Ever since it entered public consciousness in the 1980s, infrastructure has been synonymous with decline.
A swarm of locusts by Emil Schmidt

How the Soviet Union Turned a Plague into Propaganda

The fight against locust swarms allowed the Soviet Union to consolidate power over neighboring regions.