history

Feminism simply means equal rights for men and women.

Novels open us to the nuances of being human.

Flat Earth theory has enjoyed staying power since at least the 19th century despite being patently untrue. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the late Carl Sagan, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and other big thinkers will show you how to disprove this bad idea, all without having to take a journey into space.

Notice anything different? The biggest ideas of the 21st century just got a makeover.

Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union created secret cities to house the scientists working in their nuclear weapons programs. Both nations went about this in very different ways and with very different, sometimes disastrous, results.

History may not repeat but it does rhyme.

The Internet solves another mystery.

Valentine’s Day has a surprisingly raunchy history, going back thousands of years.

What history can teach us about refugees. 

“Anarchy” is often used as a synonym for chaos. Does the historical record match up with that? 

15 million Aztecs were probably killed by a form of salmonella the Spanish brought from Europe.

Debunking the myth that Enlightenment-era pastors opposed modern science.

The fragility of digital memory could let the entire story of our time turn to sand.

The biologist Trofim Lysenko, blamed for millions of deaths, is experiencing a revival in Russia.

This polymath’s papers—full of personal and scientific revelations—have joined the World Register.

Religion influences politics more now than it did 50 years ago. Are we going forward or backward?

Men are barbarians, while women are civilizing. Or at least, that’s how the stereotype goes.    

The one thing both extremes of Left and Right agree on. 

Gulp. Is that you, Santa?

Science gone horribly wrong. This infographic presents inventors where wiped out by their own creations. 

Scientists solve the mystery of an ancient Babylonian tablet, rewriting history. They think the tablet has much to teach us.

Historian Alfred McCoy explains why American power is coming to an end and lays out his vision for the new global order.

America today has normalized crimes, both physical and spiritual, says Cornel West—and being indifferent to that is the worst of all evils.

Creators of the mega-hit tv show “Game of Thrones” face growing controversy over their next show.

Many people were upset when NPR tweeted out the Declaration of Independence.

Scientists solve the mystery of why 2000-year-old Roman concrete still stands strong.

The political and economic ideas of socialism are coming back into fashion.

A new study discovers why whales grew to be the largest animals on our planet.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson releases an emotional video on the state of science in America.

The thoughts on ruthless leadership by Italian politician and writer Niccolò Machiavelli resonate today.