From SoulCycle to Scientology, we're all obsessed with cults. Linguist Amanda Montell examines the language cults use to draw us in.

“Lost” 1984 documentary, rediscovered and restored, about Japanese men and women who, at the turn of the century, immigrated to the West Coast of the United States. These pioneers tell their own stories of struggles and triumphs in a new land. “‘Issei’ brings to vivid life the world of early Japanese immigrants in rural California. Infused with spirit and humor, this captivating film is a treasure.” - Valerie Matsumoto, Professor, History,...

The carved pillars of the matrilineal Amis tribe's famed ancestral house recount tribal legends such as The Great Flood and The Glowing Girl, and are home to the ancestral spirits of the Amis. The pillars, however, were removed from the village for exhibition in Taiwan's Institute of Ethnology Museum after a typhoon toppled the house 40 years ago. This film follows a group of young Amis who seek to restore their people's connection with their ancestors....

A young girl living on the coast of South Carolina dreams of her distant relatives on the shores of Africa and beyond. Indigo Dreaming is a poetic meditation between two young girls--on different sides of the sea--who wonder about how they are intricately linked by culture, even though they are separated by location. The girls' reflections come together, creating a vision of home, as well as a celebration of the Black diaspora.

In the title story of this timely and innovative collection, a young woman wearing a Prada coat attempts to redeem a coupon for plastic storage bins while her in-laws are at home watching the Chinese news and taking her private phone calls. It is the lively and wise juxtaposition of cultures, generations, and emotions that characterize May-lee Chai's amazing stories. Within them, readers will find a complex blend of cultures spanning China, the Chinese...

"Nepantla Familias brings together Mexican American narratives that explore and negotiate the many permutations of living in between different worlds: how the authors or their characters create or fail to create, a cohesive identity amid the contradictions in their lives. Nepantla or living in the inbetween space of the borderland is the focus of this anthology. The essays, poems, and short stories explore the in-between moments in Mexican American...

"Vee's favorite story is the day she met her parents. When Vee was still a baby, they flew to China to adopt her and bring her home. But when she struggles to keep up in Chinese dance class, Vee longs for a closer connection with her birth culture. At the same time, people in her community make Vee feel out of place in her own family. Vee wants to embrace every part of herself, but it's hard when she feels like she has to choose. With help from another...