Narrated
Satchmo’s Politics
Many of Louis Armstrong’s contemporaries derided his performance antics and clowning as a creepy form of Uncle Tomism. But what if the most effective way to be political without creating a disturbance is to pretend you have no politics at all?
Rewriting History
A startling new discovery at a long-neglected archaeological site suggests the ancient Egyptians used paper more than 2,000 years before the Chinese, upending the scholarly consensus.
The Show Trial of the Century?
Republicans appear to be invoking Frank Church’s legacy not to push for real solutions, as the late senator did, but to obtain impunity for themselves and punish their enemies. In the process, they’re misrepresenting the committee's storied history.
Oxford Study Sheds Light on Muhammad’s ‘Underage’ Wife Aisha
Liberal, modernist and reformist Muslims have long sought to deny the historical authenticity and religious authority of the Aisha marital hadith, whereas ultraconservative, fundamentalist and extremist elements forcefully defend it. Meanwhile, many moderate traditionalists fall somewhere in between, seeking to affirm the authenticity of the hadith (and the Hadith canon overall) even as they discourage child marriage in practice, deeming it to be inappropriate in our modern-day sociohistorical context.
Tourists a Millennium Ago Wanted to See the Sights — Just Like Us
Twelfth-century writer Ibn Abd Rabbih reveals a relish for travel that resonates strongly today. When he moves from the third to first person in his travel guides, we can understand this man who lived a millennium ago and share in his enduringly human enjoyment of seeing new places, a pleasure we relish all the more after two years in which we have been forced to be “armchair” travelers ourselves.
Faith and Vengeance: the Islamic State’s War in Afghanistan
Since its formation in 2015, ISKP has been killing civilians and fighting the Taliban in a wave of violence unlike anything the country has seen before. This is the inside story of the group’s rise, fall and possible rebirth.
How Islam Settled Roe v. Wade Centuries Ago
In Islam, abortion is permissible in many cases, like fear of not providing for the child. Sex outside of marriage also falls into this category. One fatwa states that abortion is fine for a single mother, maybe even better if she will face social stigma.