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The Invasion of Musical Robots, 1929

The rise of recorded music left many musicians fearful of a takeover by "canned music."
by John F. Ptak via JF Ptak Science Books on June 1, 2017

Why Federal Employees Can Thank FDR for Some Restrictions on Their Tweets

The Hatch Act was crafted in response to New Deal-era political maneuvering.
by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on April 3, 2017

The Internet Should Be a Public Good

The Internet was built by public institutions — so why is it controlled by private corporations?
by Ben Tarnoff via Jacobin on August 31, 2016

Saving Historic Radio Before It’s Too Late

A first of its kind Library of Congress project aims to identify, catalogue, and preserve America’s broadcast history. 
by Adrienne LaFrance via The Atlantic on March 23, 2016
Pixelated image of ancient ruins with columns

Raiders of the Lost Web

If a Pulitzer-nominated 34-part series of investigative journalism can vanish from the web, anything can.
by Adrienne LaFrance via The Atlantic on October 14, 2015
The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869.

The Birth of Breaking News

On May 10th, 1869, the entire nation was waiting for the moment a silver hammer struck a golden spike, creating the first massive breaking news story.
by Aric Allen via YouTube on June 14, 2015

John L. Sullivan Fights America

In 1883, heavy-weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan embarked on a tour of the country that would make him a sports superstar.
by Christopher Klein via The Public Domain Review on April 30, 2014

The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic

Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio program did not touch off nationwide hysteria. Why does the legend persist?
by Michael J. Socolow, Jefferson Pooley via Slate on October 28, 2013

The Love of Monopoly

Why did the U.S. allow its national communications markets to be run by expansive monopolists?
by Tim Wu via The New Republic on May 19, 2011
Three men using the large UNIVAC computer to predict the 1952 election, with two reading a printed readout and one using a phone.

The Year Election Night First Became a TV Event

In 1952, news stations combined two new technologies—the TV and the computer—to forever transform how voters experience election night.
by Jordan Friedman via HISTORY on October 28, 2024
partner

An Early Case of Impostor Syndrome

Why were so many early European books laden with self-deprecation? Blame genre conventions.
by Katherine Churchill via HNN on August 27, 2024
Election Day in Philadelphia, John Lewis Krimmel.

A More Imperfect Union: How Differing National Visions Divided the North and the South

On the fragile facade of republicanism in 19th century America.
by Alan Taylor via Literary Hub on May 21, 2024
Image of a man distributing newspapers at a post office.

The Post Office and Privacy

We can thank the postal service for establishing the foundations of the American tradition of communications confidentiality.
by Matthew Wills, Anuj Desai via JSTOR Daily on May 19, 2024
Séance with spirit manifestation, 1872, by John Beattie.

Immortalizing Words

Henry James, spiritualism, and the afterlife.
by Ashley C. Barnes via The Hedgehog Review on April 30, 2024
Fingerspelling alphabet.

Deafness Is Not a Silence

On the suppression of sign language.
by Sarah Marsh via The Millions on March 14, 2024
Law and Political Economy Project logo

What Centuries of Common Law Can Teach Us About Regulating Social Media

Today, tech platforms, including social media, are the new common carriers.
by Ganesh Sitaraman, Morgan Ricks via LPE Project on February 26, 2024
Charles Tiffany superimposed on handwriting and map of the transatlantic cable.

How the Tiffany & Co. Founder Cashed In on the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Craze

Charles Lewis Tiffany bought surplus cable from the venture, turning it into souvenirs that forever linked his name to the telecommunications milestone.
by Robert Klara via Smithsonian on February 15, 2024
Pastoral scene of a family in their yard.

The Strange Death of Private Life

In the early 1970s, the idea that private life meant a right to be left alone – an idea forged over centuries – began to disappear. We should mourn its absence.
by Tiffany Jenkins via Engelsberg Ideas on November 21, 2023
Painting of a valley with storm clouds

Storm Patrol

Life as a Signal Corps weatherman was dangerous: besides inclement weather, they faced labor riots, conflicts with Native Americans, yellow fever outbreaks, fires, and more.
by Alyson Foster via Humanities on October 11, 2023
Illustrated silhouette of a person writing, with handwriting layered over the photo.

How Handwriting Lost Its Personality

Penmanship was once considered a window to the soul. The digital age has closed it.
by Rachel Gutman-Wei via The Atlantic on July 11, 2023
A collage of a feminine hand using a computer mouse and an eye layered over it as if watching.

Many Revolutions

The internet has expanded how we understand the possibilities of the trans experience.
by Jamie Lauren Keiles, Avery Dame-Griff via The Baffler on July 10, 2023
Cover of "Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad" by Andrew K. Diemer

A Historian Forgotten

A new biography of William Still show how the abolitionist documented the underground railroad as he helped people through it.
by Bennett Parten via Los Angeles Review of Books on May 7, 2023
1970s commercial airplane flying over a mountain range

How 1970s California Created the Modern World

What happened in California in the 1970s played an outsized role in creating the world we live in today – both in the United States and globally.
by Francis J. Gavin via Engelsberg Ideas on April 3, 2023
original

Tidying Up the Past

A history tour at Harper’s Ferry suggests that “commemoration” and “desecration” might be two sides of the same coin.
by Ed Ayers on October 12, 2022
Vannevar Bush portrait

The Atlantic Writers Project: Vannevar Bush

A contemporary Atlantic writer reflects on one of the voices from the magazine's archives who helped shape the publication—and the nation.
by Ian Bogost via The Atlantic on July 11, 2022
Black and white photo of D-Day Normandy Landings

For the Anniversary of D-Day - Blitzkrieg Manquée? Or, a New Mode of "Firepower War"?

Why and how did D-Day succeed? The question has given postwar historians no peace.
by Adam Tooze via Chartbook on June 6, 2022
Black and white photograph of crowd in China holding pictures of Mao Zedong in celebration.

U.S. Relations With China 1949–2022

U.S.-China relations have evolved from tense standoffs to a complex mix of intensifying diplomacy, growing international rivalry, and increasingly intertwined economies.
via Council On Foreign Relations on May 26, 2022
Visitors browse newspaper front pages from the day after the 9/11 terror attacks at the Newseum in Washington, D,C., in 2016. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

When History Is Lost in the Ether

Digital archiving is shoddy and incomplete, and it will hamper the ability of future generations to understand the current era.
by Christian Schneider via The Dispatch on April 6, 2022
A man carries a Confederate battle flag through the halls of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

A Brief History of Violence in the Capitol: The Foreshadowing of Disunion

The radicalization of a congressional clerk in the 1800s and the introduction of the telegraph set a young country on a new trajectory.
by Joanne B. Freeman, Clay S. Jenkinson via Governing on March 13, 2022
Poster of American flag asking people to pledge allegiance and silence about the war.

World War II’s “Rumor Control” Project

How the federal government enlisted ordinary citizens to spy on each other for the war effort.
by Neely Tucker via Library of Congress Blog on November 2, 2021
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