Discover
Explore stories about history, people, places, science, Americana, books, documents, and more.
Featured Discoveries
The Cuyahoga River’s Recovery Shows What Clean Water Can Make Possible
Once burdened by industrial pollution, Ohio’s Cuyahoga River has undergone decades of cleanup—and in 2024, federal officials removed it from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
Read more →The Fire Next Time: How James Baldwin Made Two Essays Feel Like a National Conversation
Published in 1963, James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time joined an intimate letter to his nephew with a searching examination of race, religion and American identity. Its power came from…
Read more →Dead Horse Ranch State Park: How a Cottonwood Ranch Became a Verde Valley Refuge
In Cottonwood, a former ranch brings together lagoons, cottonwoods, camping, fishing, and the Verde River—showing how a working landscape can become a lasting public place.
Read more →Latest Discoveries
Indianapolis Turned Eight Miles of City Streets Into a Cultural Trail
The Indianapolis Cultural Trail links neighborhoods, museums, public art and everyday destinations—showing how transportation infrastructure can also become civic space.
Read more →The Lincoln Highway: How America Learned to Cross Itself by Car
Before interstate highways stitched the country together, the Lincoln Highway gave Americans a bold new idea: that an automobile could carry an…
Read more →
“Books Build Us”: The Library of Congress Brings the National Book Festival Back to Washington
The 2025 National Book Festival will return to Washington, D.C., with a theme that treats reading not as a solitary pastime, but…
Read more →NASA’s X-59 Is Preparing to Make Supersonic Flight Quieter
NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft is designed to replace the explosive sonic boom with a softer sound—potentially changing how fast civilian aircraft could…
Read more →
The Humpback Whale’s Return Shows What Protection Can Make Possible
Once hunted to the edge of disappearance, humpback whales are returning to many oceans—offering a powerful example of how patience, international cooperation,…
Read more →The Terracotta Army: How a Well Dig Revealed China’s Buried Imperial Guard
In 1974, farmers near Xi’an broke through fragments of clay while digging a well. What emerged was one of archaeology’s most extraordinary…
Read more →State Crews to Launch Major Forest Thinning Initiative Near Prescott Area
State forestry officials are launching a multi-thousand-acre fuels reduction initiative on the Prescott National Forest to decrease wildfire hazards and improve local wildlife habitat.
