Thomas Jefferson thought of farmers as the nation’s MVPs. He called them “the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous” of our citizens. But Jefferson didn’t live in this time, when 95% of the food and commodities... Read More

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves and slept around. Whether those not-so-small peccadilloes take away from their role in forming this country is a matter of debate. But the larger point is that no one escapes this life... Read More

It is easy to forget that as recently as twenty-five years ago, America’s drinking habits were anything but crafty and adventurous. We were a Bud country, we liked our cocktails old-school, and the little wine we drank was of the Gallo... Read More

Probiotics are the miracle cure of our age, if we take the advertising world at its word. And yet, the conclusive studies and research haven’t nearly caught up with the claims of the marketers. It’s still early, folks. But... Read More

As props go, a vase of flowers or bowl of fruit may qualify as the painter’s favorite subject—excepting, of course, a portrait of the person paying the artist’s fee in advance. But artists throughout history have also shown a... Read More

For all its authentic, artisanal, true-to-the-earth talk, today’s wine industry is high tech, and the science-driven approach to quality in the vineyards and wineries around the world has surely made these the glory days for wine... Read More

Angels, however crude, fear a few places, according to E. M. Foster, but the same cannot be said of poets. Boundlessly curious, no subject is off limits for bards like Suzanne Cleary to tread. New Yorker Cleary earned her Pushcart Prize... Read More

All anthologists should be so lucky: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather the best erotic work by top female poets.” Off Enid Shomer went, wherever the trail led—to poems by Denise Levertov, Sharon Olds,... Read More