What’s been filling our office chatter? Check out our Friday Faves to find out.

Kristen Fuhs Wells, director of communications and development:

• Thanks to board member Beth Bechdol for bringing this fascinating podcast series on presidential leadership styles to my attention. With a long road trip ahead of me I’ll be downloading some of these and hope to get through all 44!
• The National Baseball Hall of Fame just released a ton of news clips for a Babe Ruth Scrapbook, available free and online. It’s an interesting look at how people thought of one of the game’s greatest during his time.

George Hanlin, director of grants:

• If he still has any discretionary funds left after paying his hefty overdue-book fine, I hope this fellow will join us for our Next Indiana Campfires trip to the Limberlost!
• In all honesty, I know that being stuck on a train for 60-some hours straight would drive me crazy—but this essay on traveling west via the California Zephyr sure makes me want to hit the rails and see America.

Bronwen Fetters, executive assistant and program associate:

• This article from The Establishment talks about a new book called Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World. Author and illustrator Ann Shen highlights 100 different female trailblazers—from pirates to computer programmers—who made their mark on this earth. Plus the pictures are great!

Leah Nahmias, director of programs and community engagement:

• Alan Taylor, whose beautiful prose stands far above most of his academic historian peers, writes about early American history from a continental or transnational perspective. His new book American Revolutions, was the subject of this wonderful review in Slate, “America’s First Civil War.” 
• Few place names fire my imagination like “Great Dismal Swamp.” Read about the discoveries archaeologists have been uncovering that reveal the lives of maroon slave communities who found freedom there.
• What’s the meaning of a miracle in our scientific, data-driven culture? I loved this essay by Dr. Jacaclyn Duffin, who was asked by the Vatican to weigh in on the canonization of St. Marie-Marguerite d’Youville in order to “prove” the saint had interceded with God to effect a miraculous medical cure. Dr. Duffin, an atheist and also a historian of medicine, then went on to research other medical miracles marshalled to support canonizations over the years.

Jacqueline Cromleigh, communications and community relations manager:

• Our own Bronwen Fetters wrote this lovely post on what she’s learned from children’s literature over on the Indiana Authors Award site.

Do you have any humanities highlights from your week? We would love to hear from you in the comment section below.