by Nicola | Dec 16, 2013
Don’t let its name fool you: in between shiny “phablets” and robot armies, Gizmodo still makes time for the ultimate old-school entertainment and educational device, the book. When Gizmodo’s new editor-in-chief (and my Venue collaborator),... by Nicola | Nov 6, 2013
The American family dinner is an endangered custom with magical powers attributed to it. It is also, as cultural historian Abigail Carroll explains in her fascinating new book, Three Squares, “only about 150 years old.” IMAGE: Three Squares, Abigail... by Nicola | Oct 2, 2012
IMAGE: The cover of Urban Farms shows Greensgrow Farm, Philadelphia. Photograph by Matthew Benson. On page sixty of Sarah Rich’s new book, Urban Farms, she quotes Mary Seton Corboy, founder of Greensgrow in North Philadelphia, saying, “Urban agriculture is... by Nicola | Apr 2, 2012
Earlier this year, Sarah Lohman of the historical gastronomy blog Four Pounds Flour and Jonathan Soma of the Brooklyn Brainery launched a monthly “bar room lecture series” on food called “Masters of Social Gastronomy” (MSG for short). Although... by Nicola | Aug 22, 2010
Historian Daniel Okrent’s recent book, Last Call, tells the story of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — otherwise known as Prohibition. IMAGE: Constitutional Amendment XVIII, ratified January 16, 1919, via the National Archives and Records... by Nicola | Jun 16, 2010
Long-time Pruned readers (which I encourage you all to become, if you are not already) might remember a short post from January 2007, which introduced Carlos Barrios, a former accountant turned official Mexico City sewer diver. These Washington Post descriptions of...