Why Was Victorian London So Dirty?
May 23, 2016
Lee Jackson— In 1899, the Chinese ambassador was asked his opinion of Victorian London at the zenith of its imperial grandeur. He replied, laconically, ‘too dirty’. He was only stating… READ MORE
Category: History
The Growth of Presidential Power
May 17, 2016
Benjamin Ginsberg— For most of the nineteenth century, the presidency was a weak institution. In unusual circumstances, a Jefferson, a Jackson, or a Lincoln might exercise extraordinary power, but most… READ MORE
Abolitionists are American Democracy’s Unsung Heroes
May 13, 2016
Manisha Sinha— Most Americans greeted Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew’s decision to put Harriet Tubman, the abolitionist heroine of the Underground Railroad, on the front of the twenty-dollar bill and relegate… READ MORE
A Volcano in Constant Eruption: Surviving the Hell of Verdun
May 12, 2016
One hundred years ago, in May 1916, the costliest, bloodiest battle of World War I’s Western Front – Verdun – had raged for three months without slackening. French and German… READ MORE
Myths That Make History
April 27, 2016
Graham Seal— Ancient though their origins may be, the world’s many myths and legends have played an important role in history. Frightening fables of unknown southern lands, tales of lost… READ MORE
A Conversation with Richard Conniff
April 12, 2016
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History turns 150 this year, and to celebrate, we spoke with Richard Conniff, author of House of Lost Worlds, about some of the fascinating… READ MORE
The Lingering Damage of a Deadly Hurricane
April 6, 2016
Stephen Long— It can seem like a long wait for Spring to replace the browns and grays of the woods with tints of green. But this time of year has… READ MORE
Rethinking America’s Harsh Criminal Justice System
April 5, 2016
James Q. Whitman— Over the past few years there has been a growing sense of crisis in American criminal justice–a sense on both the right and the left that our… READ MORE
Words and Politics: Lessons from Nuremberg
March 30, 2016
Joel E. Dimsdale— Seventy years ago the international military tribunal at Nuremberg sentenced Julius Streicher to death for incitement of violence. It was one of the court’s most controversial judgments…. READ MORE
Easter and Medieval Food
March 26, 2016
Chris Woolgar– Chocolate eggs, simnel cake and a return to those things we have given up for Lent? There are resonances in all these to medieval foods. While there may… READ MORE
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