Joe Saunders Mulberries are wonderful trees bearing lovely fruit. Despite their distinctiveness these trees ‘are often overlooked and even at the height of their fruit season they can remain unnoti…

People who left Russia after the start of the full-scale war have had to start their lives over from scratch. They’ve had to learn a new language, absorb the local culture, traditions, and bureaucracy...

Joe Saunders During the medieval period in Europe pilgrimage was a key feature of religious life. Many people went on pilgrimage at least once in their lives.[1] These were visits to locations of s…

Pam Smith Turnpike roads were a system of road management used in England. They were first established in the seventeenth century but not used extensively until the eighteenth. The first turnpike w…

Joe Saunders In medieval and early modern England the Church, initially the Catholic Church and then Church of England, operated a system of ecclesiastical courts. Such courts, famously called the …

Joe Saunders Antiquarianism is the investigation of the past through its material remains. Antiquarians have served an important part in the study of history over the last few hundred years, and th…

Joe Saunders Prior to the development of government and employer health insurance and financial services, friendly or ‘benevolent’ societies were an important part of many people’s lives. These soc…

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.

ALDBOROUGH, ENGLAND—When the Romans conquered Britain in the first century a.d., they transformed the island […]

YouTube video by Butser Ancient Farm

Britain

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.

Freelance journalist based in Delaware covering courts, climate change and most everything in between. Lots of #limuluslove here. Check out my work at maddylauria.com.

Escape newsletter inbox chaos and algorithmic surveillance by building your own enshittification-proof newspaper from the writers you already read

Many anthropologists and economists contend that humans are characterized by strong, universal, other-regarding equality preferences with deep evolutionary root

England

What 700 years of pandemic responses reveal about institutional effectiveness

Libraries and Archives

Losing half of its employees would severely strap the I.R.S., meaning Americans may have to wait longer to receive tax refunds.

The Missouri Republican faced an angry crowd during a Monday town hall in Belton.

Musk et al. don't know or care about the damage they are doing

The Senate held a final vote on whether to approve Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary after a three-month confirmation fight.

I do love Jo Walton's "Small Change" trilogy. & I do find it, once again, a very suitable read for our times. Save for the not-unhappy ending part...