The Johnstown Flood, Black westerns, coal communities, corporate personhood, “Manhunt,” the “Happy Birthday” song, and more
Minding the GAPE – February 2024
The first Black-owned public hospital, the “Delsarte method” for Black women’s self-care, the material culture of Valentine’s Day, cleaning up the mess of Carnival season, a chaotic yet cost-effective sewing pattern, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – January 2024
Convict leasing, Chicago’s public art, the 40-hour workweek, dairy milk, a dinosaur in DC, Lucy Parsons, WWI propaganda and the modern media industry, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – December 2023
Preserving radio broadcasts, looking over the year’s best Black history books, holiday baking with historical recipes, remembering the Christmas Truce of 1914, controversy over the Confederate memorial removal at Arlington National Cemetery, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – November 2023
Looking back at the histories of Armistice Day and Thanksgiving, building urban landscapes with trash, resistance through writing at Carlisle Indian School, swan boats, New York City’s rats, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – October 2023
Vampire-killing kits, log driving, urban disability history, presidential pets, Killers of the Flower Moon, 100 years of the jungle gym, “cough gum,” and much more.
Minding the GAPE – September 2023
Deadly artificial flowers, urban playgrounds, “domestic husbands,” ice cream parlor panics, horseless carriages, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – August 2023
Wildfires, Wild West shows, traveling circuses, brewing beer, beating heat waves, the lottery, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – July 2023
Anti-suffragists, racism in western water rights, opioid addiction among Civil War veterans, double exposure photographs, icebox cakes, Kentucky cave tourism, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – June 2023
Crime-scene dust, LGBTQ+ artists’ homes, the Black working class, hookworm eradication, Sanborn maps, ice cream on the menu, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – May 2023
Preserving Chinatowns, combatting food price-fixing, examining the roots of Memorial Day, mapping the Titanic shipwreck, attempting to protect migratory birds, and much more.
Minding the GAPE – April 2023
Easter hats, carrier pigeons, child labor laws, the Comstock Act, the long history of removing Black lawmakers from office, a Gilded Age murder mystery, and much more.