The Shadow of the Present
January 14, 2019
Tony Spawforth— As I write about the remote past, I never feel that history has repeated itself. Even so, there are times when the Greek and Roman worlds seem to… READ MORE
Category: History
The Center of the Universe
December 28, 2018
Marcia Bartusiak— Walk into an open field on a clear, moonless night. Overhead, sparkling stars are sprinkled across the sky. All of them seem equidistant from you—and no one else—and you… READ MORE
Reconstructing Seapower
December 11, 2018
Andrew Lambert— In the late 1880s, American strategist and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan coined the term “sea power” by purposefully splitting the word “seapower,” a direct translation of the Greek… READ MORE
Armistice Attire
December 10, 2018
Guy Cuthbertson— When the fighting on the Western Front ended on November 11, 1918, and people celebrated wildly back at home, unusual outfits featured prominently in those celebrations. Flags became… READ MORE
Political Tribalism: The Art of Divide and Rule
November 23, 2018
Michelle Baddeley— How did Donald Trump manage to become president? If we look to psychology for an explanation, we can understand Trump as the populist leader of a modern-day tribe… READ MORE
The Origin of Empathy
November 21, 2018
Susan Lanzoni— Is it possible to empathize with lines in an abstract design, with the expansive reach of a tree, the sweep of a bird’s flight, or the imposing rise… READ MORE
Gershom Scholem: The Private Life of an Intellectual
November 16, 2018
David Biale— While researching my biography of the historian Gershom Scholem for Yale’s Jewish Lives series, I came across virtually unknown evidence that Scholem fell in love in 1934 with… READ MORE
Standing Rock
November 15, 2018
Thomas Grillot— The mobilization against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in the winter of 2016-2017 has made headlines throughout the world. In the first days of September 2016, the challenge… READ MORE
The Many Gods of Ancient Monotheism
November 14, 2018
Paula Fredriksen— How is the ancient Jew—and, later, the ancient Christian—distinguished from his contemporary neighbor, the pagan? Biblical communities were monotheist, many people will answer; pagan communities were polytheist. For… READ MORE
A History of Servers: From Lazy Suzan to Alexa
November 9, 2018
Markus Krajewski— When Amazon introduced the world to a black, cylindrical cartouche with built-in ears and a female voice that answers to the name of Alexa in 2015, more than… READ MORE
From 9/11 to 9/11: The Widening of the Atlantic