Isle of Birds

Scottish Fiddling with Pete Clark

Glen Harrell - Turn up the Volume

In just a little over 10 years since its formation, Volume Five has become one of the most popular bluegrass bands in the industry. The reason is obvious: distinctive, strong vocals, quality instrumentation, well-chosen bluegrass and gospel songs in its repertoire, and a dedicated leader of the band.

Ingredients of Fiddle Tunes

After several years of teaching and playing at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, Marc Savoy, accordion maker and player, said he did not want to return.

Tunesmiths

A Favorite Tune and its Mysterious Title

Instrument Maker James Morris: Where History and Creativity Meet

I first came upon James (Jim) Morris' musical creations on the Facebook group Fiddle Tune Video Library.

Murray Kuun: Non-traditional Violin Maker

Murray Kuun is a woodworker and luthier living in South Africa, where he builds violins and other instruments. In a recent interview, he told us about his path to becoming a maker of instruments with innovative designs.

The Intrepid Fiddler

Busking in the Digital Age

Jody's Column

"Broken Down Gambler" as played by The Skillet Lickers

Violin Maker's Corner

Fundamental Friction Facts for Fiddler Folks

On Improvisation

In this On Improvisation column, we'll be discussing Mr. (or Ms.) Pinky, as he (or she) is known to his (or her) friends.

John Preston: Making Living Trees into Singing Instruments

Every great chef knows the excellence of their dish depends on the quality of their ingredients. The same is true for the builder of instruments.

Tracking Periods Without Being Tracked

The group behind the nonprofit app Drip says it offers greater privacy than commercial rivals

‘I Didn't Really Learn Anything': Covid Grads Face College

Angel Hope looked at the math test and felt lost. He had just graduated near the top of his high school class, winning scholarships from prestigious colleges. But on this test — a University of Wisconsin exam that measures what new students learned in high school — all he could do was guess.

You Can't Stop Pirate Libraries

Where there's demand for books, the Internet will supply them.

The Dangerous Lesson of Book Bans in Public School Libraries

An obscure Supreme Court case provides a roadmap through the curricular culture war.

Debtors' Vision

How a group of Occupiers pushed Biden to embrace student debt relief

Kids Can Learn Without Instruction

Don’t show this to your kids, because they might cry. But guess how much time children in “traditional societies”— indigenous groups pretty much off the grid—spend in direct instruction, the way American kids do in school?

The Magic of Children's Gardens

Exposure to nature helps kids learn important lessons they'll carry with them as they grow.

Cold War Kids

For two weeks in 1962, at recess, we would all look up at the sky. We're looking at the sky again.

10 Common Career Tips That Might Be Wrong for You

Advice about the working world can seem helpful, but following it may not help your career flourish.!

The End of an Era

Texans drove their last great herds north in the 1880s.

Wondrium: Wide Variety of Education Videos

Couch-side edutainment for the curious

Ask the Marshall — Saloons, Paniolos and Telegraphs

Was the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, an integrated saloon during 1876 to 1886, the height of the cattle drive era? This rare interior photo of Chalk Beeson's famous Front Street bar shows bartender Lo Warren (front, right), a Black bartender and cowboys sitting at the rear of the saloon.

Native History Celebrated Large

Only months old, the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City is dedicated to truth-telling.

The lost girls of covid

For 25 years, girls in developing countries have been on a remarkable trajectory of progress. The pandemic is reversing it

Good Bugs

These creative critters offer help to humans in a variety of ways.

“My Dad Wasn't Just A Nobody”

Fifteen people at Rikers died in 2021. These are their stories.

The Purity Trap

These women went to Bible college to deepen their faith. Then they were assaulted— and blamed for it.

THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE

In the early 1960s, archaeologists from around the world descended on the Upper Nile Valley.

Under the Holy City

A long-running excavation in Jerusalem unearths evidence for two of the city’s least-known eras