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Still from the 2023 indie film "Late Night with the Devil"

The Role of Talk Shows in Sensationalizing the Satanic Panic of the 1980s

"Late Night with the Devil," a “found footage” horror film, perfectly captures the mood and style that surrounded media depictions of the occult in the 1970s.
by Joseph Laycock via Religion Dispatches on March 26, 2024
Edward R. Murrow on the telephone.

Edward R. Murrow Wasn’t the First Journalist to Question Joseph McCarthy’s Communist Witch Hunts

As the fear of communist subversion spread throughout America, McCarthy launched hearings that were based on scant evidence and overblown charges.
by W. Joseph Campbell via The Conversation on March 1, 2024
A illustration depicts the Hopkinsville Goblins incident from 1955, when a group claims they were assaulted by aliens of some sort.

The Long, Surprising Legacy of the Hopkinsville Goblins

Or, why families under siege make for great movies.
by Colin Dickey via Atlas Obscura on February 8, 2024
Photograph of 1964 GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.

The Twisted History of the American Crime Anxiety Industry

Our political and cultural systems are obsessed with exploiting fears about crime. But it wasn’t always this way.
by Caleb Brennan via The Nation on November 1, 2023
A crowd of tourist superimposed over images of Salem attractions and a cemetery.

Salem’s Unholy Bargain: How Tragedy Became an Attraction

Is the cost worth the payoff?
by Lex Pryor via The Ringer on October 30, 2023
AR-15 with the American flag attatched.

The Curse of the AR-15

How the gun became a cultural icon—and unmade America.
by Colin Dickey via The New Republic on October 23, 2023
Cover of the book "American Purgatory"

American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration

A new book links the rise of American prisons to the expansion of American power around the globe.
by Benjamin D. Weber via The Appeal on October 4, 2023
Sly Stone performing at a concert.

The Undoing of a Great American Band

Sly and the Family Stone suggested new possibilities in music and life—until it all fell apart.
by James Parker via The Atlantic on September 16, 2023
A political cartoon of Spiro Agnew holding an axe behind his back.

Oh, We Knew Agnew

On Spiro Agnew's lasting legacy.
by Jerald Podair, Zach Messitte, Charles J. Holden via Los Angeles Review of Books on August 27, 2023
Cover of "Liberalism Against Itself"

Memo to Liberals: The Cold War is Over

In “Liberalism Against Itself,” Samuel Moyn stresses the need to resuscitate an earlier and more rousing wave of thinkers.
by Becca Rothfeld via Washington Post on August 11, 2023
Aftermath of Oklahoma City bombing.

American Carnage

A new book about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing traces the path from Ronald Reagan’s antigovernment ideology to today’s radicalized right.
by Sean Wilentz via New York Review of Books on July 25, 2023
A skeleton woman in a black dress floating in a cemetery.

The Elusive, Maddening Mystery of the Bell Witch

A classic ghost story has something to say about America—200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today.
by Colin Dickey via Atlas Obscura on May 2, 2023
Photos of UFO and the Chinese Spy Balloon.

Why Americans Are So Unsettled by the Chinese Spy Balloon

China’s balloon, whatever its purpose, became a physical and observable reminder of the often-invisible work nations do to keep tabs on one another.
by Kelsey D. Atherton via Slate on February 10, 2023
Texas investigators and medical examiners stand on top of the ruins of the Mount Carmel compound.

How the Right Got Waco Wrong

Militia groups have long used Waco as a rallying cry. But it was never the example of whiteness under siege that they invoke.
by Paul M. Renfro via The New Republic on January 31, 2023
Censored text and George W. Bush with a black bar covering his eyes. Art by Alex Cochran.

What Really Took America to War in Iraq

A fatal combination of fear, power, and hubris.
by Melvyn P. Leffler via The Atlantic on January 23, 2023
Corporate executives sitting on musicians

Ticketmaster’s Dark History

A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam.
by Maureen Tkacik, Krista Brown via The American Prospect on December 21, 2022
Leland and Jane Stanford

Stop All the Cocks! Who Killed Jane Stanford?

Many of the ­private colleges and universities in the US arose as much out of vanity as necessity. But for morbid narcissism, nothing comes close to Stanford.
by James Lasdun via London Review of Books on December 1, 2022
Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole standing alongside an elephant on Capitol Hill, 1995.

Myths of Doom

Can the origins of today’s right be traced to the 1990s?
by John Ganz via The Nation on November 29, 2022
KKK march overlaid on J. Edgar Hoover

How Hoover Took Down the Klan

The FBI’s successful campaign against white supremacists is also a cautionary tale.
by Beverly Gage via The Atlantic on November 20, 2022
Photograph of San Francisco Supervisor Dan White standing behind the counter of his fast-food restaurant, the Hot Potato, in October 1978.

How San Francisco (?!) Helped Give Birth to Modern American Fascism

Remember Dan White? He was the Kyle Rittenhouse of his day. No wonder Tucker Carlson loves him.
by David Masciotra via The New Republic on September 30, 2022
Image of army soldiers and weapons facing crowd of protestors holding signs

A Theater of State Panic

Beginning in 1967, the Army built fake towns to train police and military officers in counterinsurgency.
by Bench Ansfield via New York Review of Books on September 16, 2022
A woman lights a candle at a memorial for the Buffalo shooting victims, May 2022.
partner

The Mass Shooting in Buffalo Reflects Deeply Rooted American Ideas

Until we grapple with our history, white supremacist terrorism will keep happening.
by Jesse Curtis via Made By History on May 16, 2022
Checkpoint Charlie, seen from West Berlin in 1960.

The Disastrous Return of Cold War Strategy

Hal Brands urges the U.S. to make China and Russia “pay exorbitantly” for their policies. History shows that has never worked.
by Jordan Michael Smith via The New Republic on March 10, 2022
A row of brightly colored newspaper boxes.
partner

The Black Press Provides a Model for How Mainstream News Can Better Cover Racism

Digging deeper, offering historical context and going beyond official narratives will better serve the audience.
by Olivia Paschal via Made By History on February 17, 2022
Artists and people sitting on and around a hotel at Woodstock in 1967

The Dropout, a History: From Postwar Paranoia to a Summer of Love

The dropout was not just a hippy-trippy hedonist but a paranoid soul, who feared brainwashing and societal control.
by Charlie Williams via Aeon on December 3, 2021
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
Collage: a pair of arms wraps around collections of newspapers reporting on AIDS and plays guitar strings.

An AIDS Activist's Archive

June Holmes was in her late twenties, working as a social worker on Long Island, when she first heard about “this thing called AIDS.”
by Scott Wasserman Stern via New York Review of Books on October 29, 2021
Visitors sit next to displays of missiles and a sea defense weapon system at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, on Sept. 29
partner

Fear About China’s New Space Weapon Echoes Older Worries About War From Space

And that’s exactly why there is no need to overreact.
by Stephen Buono via Made By History on October 26, 2021
Chinese miners in California

The Anti-Asian Roots of Today’s Anti-Immigrant Politics

Long before Trump, politicians on the country’s West Coast mobilized a white working-class base through violent hate of Chinese and Japanese immigrants.
by Mari Uyehara via The Nation on August 9, 2021
A woman standing in a field.
partner

Drug Prohibition and the Political Roots of Cartel Violence in Mexico

Until both American and Mexican police forces stop treating it like a war, the violence of drug prohibition won't stop.
by Benjamin T. Smith via HNN on August 8, 2021
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