Stephanie Bastek

This episode originally aired on December 30, 2024. The Snow Maiden—not to be confused with the Snow Queen, Snow White, or Frosty the Snow Man is a popular Slavic folktale about an elderly couple and a miraculous child born from snow. In addition to being... See more

The Midwife of Black Nationalism Ashley D. Farmer on the forgotten life of “Queen Mother” Audley Moore Audley Moore mentored Malcolm X, popularized reparations for African Americans in a 1963 essay, and advanced the cause of Black women in both the Black ... See more

In ancient Greece, the view from on high was known as catascopos, or “the looker-down.” It’s a privileged perspective, and in the modern world, one increasingly taken by machines: drones, satellites, spy cameras, airplanes, sentient doorbells. In his new ... See more

Stories of the undead tormenting the living supposedly entered the English-speaking world in 1732, with a report from the Hapsburg military of events in Serbia—events that would go on to inspire the most famous vampire of all, Dracula. But the count from ... See more

Boxy Moskvitch and Lada cars, pastel-green concrete tiles, derelict playgrounds, intermittent hot water: these were the markers of Izidora Angel’s childhood in 1980s Sofia. “Banana Yellow Trabants,” her essay for our Autumn 2025 issue, takes its name from... See more