
Winning NIL
Student athletes can finally earn money off of their name, image and likeness. And: many elite athletes have had their careers ruined for using banned substances. Is it worth it?

Seeking Refuge
Worldwide there are more than 35 million refugees who have fled their homes. And when other countries take in a huge influx of those refugees, there’s a lot to consider. Erika Frydenlund studies how host countries can help manage a refugee surge.

A “Special Meeting Place” Focuses on Indigenous History
As amazing as it seems for an area that was once home to numerous Native tribes that were part of Tsenacomoco, the Powhatan paramount chiefdom that stretched from the James to the Potomac rivers and west to the fall line, a new Virginia state park in the region is the first to honor Indigenous history in the Commonwealth.

Black and Fine
Some of America’s first maestros of European art music were enslaved and free Virginians of African descent.

Decades of Destruction
A new series of entries from our Encyclopedia Virginia will examine the federal roots of urban renewal policies in Virginia and their impact in five locations across the Commonwealth: Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk, Northern Virginia, and Roanoke.

REPLAY: The Birthplace of Mac n Cheese
You have Chef James Hemings, who cooked for Thomas Jefferson, to thank for the macaroni and cheese on your plate this Thanksgiving. Setting the Table’s Deb Freeman tells us how the French dish became so baked into American cuisine.

Five Questions with Laura Ornée
We recently caught up with Laura Ornée, PhD+ intern with our Encyclopedia Virginia, to learn more about her time at UVA, her reading recommendations, and how life in Virginia compares (or contrasts) to life in her home country, the Netherlands.

New Exhibition Tells the Story of a Lost Roanoke Neighborhood
David Ramey’s colorful illustrations capture life in Roanoke’s thriving Black communities of Gainsboro and Northeast before they were razed in the name of “urban renewal.” His drawings and stories are on display in a new exhibition featured at the Taubman Museum of Art and the Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Roanoke.

Broomlore: Witches & Weddings
There are more histories tied to your everyday house broom than you may realize, as many contemporary broom makers will tell you.

Creepy Reads for Halloween
Seasonal readings! Had your fill of calmly bobbing for apples? Bored with haunted hayrides? Here are a few book recommendations for the height of spooky season.

The Humanities Indicators Project
For National Arts & Humanities Month, David Rehr—GMU professor and member of our board—reflects on a new study that demonstrates the value of a humanities education and its importance to the Commonwealth.

Witches of Virginia
The accused witches of Salem, in what was then the Province of Massachusetts Bay, are the country’s most famous purported practitioners of the dark arts, but Virginia had its own experiences with witchcraft trials.