Essay When rules don鈥檛 rule July 21, 2022 Rules: there are so many of them, and all so very various. Rules for where to place that third fork in a formal table setting, rules for when to clap at concerts, rules for deciding who has the right of way at an intersection, rules for how to play games, rules for declaring taxable income, rules for how to greet friends鈥攁 firm handshake (Germany), alternating pecks on the cheek (France), a bow and clasped hands (India), or a hug (the U.S.). Read More
Essay Why Europe? Y. Pestis July 18, 2022 During the Middle Ages, two formidable species pervaded West Eurasia: homo sapiens (humans) and rattus rattus (black rats). The two disliked each other, but literally lived in each other鈥檚 homes. In 1345, the Black Death reached them. Read More
Essay The complex origins, development, and meanings of human rights June 14, 2022 In聽2015, a young girl and her father crossed into the United States from the border with Mexico. Astrid and Arturo, K鈥檌che鈥� Indians from Guatemala, were fleeing the systematic discrimination and violence their people have suffered for decades. Read More
Interview Book Club Pick: The Golden Rhinoceros June 08, 2022 From the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the voyages of European exploration in the fifteenth, Africa was at the center of a vibrant exchange of goods and ideas. Read More
Interview B茅n茅dicte Savoy on Africa鈥檚 Struggle for its Art May 09, 2022 For decades, African nations have fought for the return of countless works of art stolen during the colonial era and placed in Western museums. In聽Africa鈥檚 Struggle for Its Art, B茅n茅dicte Savoy brings to light this largely unknown but deeply important history. Read More
Podcast Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe May 09, 2022 At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. Read More
Essay Fortune鈥檚 knave April 11, 2022 In the spring of 1924, Stalin鈥檚 nemesis and rival, Lev Trotsky, told the 鈥淥ld Bolshevik鈥� Vladimir Smirnov, 鈥淪talin will become the dictator of the USSR.鈥� 鈥淪talin?鈥� Smirnov reacted. 鈥淏ut he is a mediocrity, a colorless non-entity.鈥� Read More
Interview Robert K. Durkee on The New 91桃色 Companion April 05, 2022 The New 91桃色 Companion, edited by Robert K. Durkee, former vice president and secretary of 91桃色 University, is both a compendium and a chronicle of one of America鈥檚 finest institutions of higher learning. Read More
Interview Michael Brenner on In Hitler鈥檚 Munich March 28, 2022 In the aftermath of Germany鈥檚 defeat in World War I and the failed November Revolution of 1918鈥�19, the conservative government of Bavaria identified Jews with left-wing radicalism. Read More
Essay Madison鈥檚 balancing act聽 March 22, 2022 The further the American Revolution recedes into history, the easier it is to miss just how close the United States of America came to being a divided collection of competing colonies under the punishing heel of an angry Britain. Read More
Reading List A playlist for Waterloo Sunrise March 07, 2022 There are cultural moments that implant themselves in our shared consciousness, impacting how we discuss or recall those times. If someone were to mention the early aughts, for example, chances are we could all point to an event, a celebrity, a song that represents the entire era, not just for one person, but for us all. Read More
Video PUP Speaks: Kyle Harper on a germ鈥檚-eye view of history November 30, 2021 In the immortal words of the rock band The Doors, people are strange. From nature鈥檚 perspective, human beings are highly unusual. Kyle Harper shows how humans became the irresistible hosts of so many diseases, and how it has shaped us as a species. Read More
Interview Margaret Jacobs on After One Hundred Winters November 09, 2021 After One Hundred Winters聽confronts the harsh truth that the United States was founded on the violent dispossession of Indigenous people and asks what reconciliation might mean in light of this haunted history. Read More
Podcast Listen in: After One Hundred Winters November 01, 2021 After One Hundred Winters聽confronts the harsh truth that the United States was founded on the violent dispossession of Indigenous people and asks what reconciliation might mean in light of this haunted history. Read More
Essay A social democratic surprise: The results of the German elections October 12, 2021 The first election after Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 retirement was eagerly awaited, since it would show the direction of Germany鈥檚 and Europe鈥檚 future. Read More
