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Rep. Stephen Horn, examines a chart showing his grades for each agency's progress on the Y2K computer problem.
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What to Know About Y2K, Before You Watch 'Y2K'

The Year 2000 computer problem continues to nag at us 25 years later.
by Zachary Loeb via Made By History on December 18, 2024
Peeling paint.

On “White Slavery” and the Roots of the Contemporary Sex Trafficking Panic

The ruling class used false claims about white women’s sexual virtue to regulate sexuality. But the “white slavery” panic was also about race, class and labor.
by Chanelle Gallant, Elene Lam via Literary Hub on December 12, 2024
Magnifying glass on top of the book "The Mask of Sanity" by Hervey Cleckley.

The Man Who Invented the “Psychopath”

Hervey Cleckley wanted to treat the most overlooked psychiatric patients. Instead his work was used to demonize them.
by Camille Bromley via The New Republic on November 7, 2024
State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill Administration Building, with a restricted entrance sign in front of its doors.

The Porous Prison

How incarcerated people have become separated from American society.
by Charlotte E. Rosen, Reiko Hillyer via Public Books on October 3, 2024
An illustration of the book "Silent Spring" on top of the earth.

This Book Helped Save the Planet—but Created a Very Harmful Myth

It radically shifted the way the world looked at the environment, but created a wave of misinformation we’re still dealing with today.
by Katie MacBride via Slate on September 29, 2024
Trent Reznor

Knots, Ties, and Lines: “The Downward Spiral” at Thirty

Nine Inch Nails, the Manson Family, and the contradictions of Los Angeles.
by Gianni de Falco via Cleveland Review of Books on July 16, 2024
Donald Trump wearing 2000 "America First Pat Buchanan" sticker.

The Crack-Up

John Ganz’s “When the Clock Broke” renders the signal political battles of the present in an entirely new light.
by John Ganz, Chris Lehmann via The Baffler on June 21, 2024
Senator Robert Menendez walking into court
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The Long, Sordid History of Foreign Government Lobbying

The many strategies foreign governments have used to shape American policy in their favor.
by Aaron Coy Moulton via Made By History on May 28, 2024
Painting of man finding woman seated at table writing
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A Kind of Historical Faith

On the history of literature masquerading as primary source.
by Emma Garman via HNN on May 21, 2024
Civil War soldiers on horseback with pistols.

The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth Goes On

A new television miniseries depicts the pursuit of Lincoln’s killer. But the public appetite for tales about the chase began even as it was happening.
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on March 11, 2024
People walking around buildings destroyed by the Johnstown Flood.
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A Flood of Tourism in Johnstown

Days after a failed dam led to the drowning deaths of more than 2,200 people, the Pennsylvania industrial town was flooded again—with tourists.
by Matthew Wills, Emily Godbey via JSTOR Daily on March 1, 2024
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
Drawn picture of the tidal channel known as Hell Gate, in New York, circa 1775

Is There Sunken Treasure Beneath the Treacherous Currents of Hell Gate?

In the heart of New York City, a centuries-long hunt for Revolutionary War–era gold.
by Joaquim Salles via Atlas Obscura on September 27, 2023
Syringes on the beach.

Hypodermics on the Shore

The “syringe tides”—waves of used hypodermic needles, washing up on land—terrified beachgoers of the late 1980s. Their disturbing lesson was ignored.
by Jeremy A. Greene via The Atlantic on August 29, 2023
Cover of the book "When Crack Was King," and Donovan X. Ranmsey.

A History of the Crack Epidemic From Below

How documenting the history of the drug war is a “community project” and reflections on 1990s rap music's anti-crack hits.
by Donovan X. Ramsey, Naomi Elias via The Nation on August 4, 2023
President Warren G. Harding against a background of news clippings related to his death.

Why President Warren G. Harding's Sudden Death Sparked Rumors of Murder and Suicide

The commander in chief's unexpected death in office 100 years ago fueled decades of conspiracy theories but was most likely the result of a heart attack.
by Greg Daugherty via Smithsonian Magazine on August 1, 2023
George Gordon Meade

After Winning the Battle of Gettysburg, George Meade Fought With—and Lost to—the Press

The Civil War general's reputation was shaped by partisan politics, editorial whims and his own personal failings.
by Nicholas Liu via Smithsonian Magazine on July 3, 2023
Father Charles Coughlin delivers a radio speech (Fotosearch/Getty Images).

Ultra Violence

Rachel Maddow’s podcast tells of American Nazis in the 1940s. But the era’s real and lasting authoritarian danger came from the growth of a national security state.
by Nelson Lichtenstein via Dissent on May 23, 2023
Lebron James posing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Changed the Rules for Black Athletes

How Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's activism set the stage for Lebron James and twenty-first century Black professional athletes.
by Theresa Runstedtler via Humanities on March 22, 2023
Chicago Bulls guard Norm Van Lier drives past Milwaukee Bucks center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs at the United Center in Chicago on April 19, 1974.

How Black Basketball Players in the ‘70s Paved the Way for the All Stars Today

The impact of Black ball players' fight for higher compensation and labor protections in the ‘70s is felt today.
by Theresa Runstedtler via TIME on March 16, 2023
A balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on Feb. 4, shortly before it was shot down.
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Panic Over Spy Balloon Echoes Misguided Alarm Over Sputnik

In this case, freaking out makes even less sense because spy balloons are historically a sign of weakness.
by Kenneth Osgood via Made By History on February 13, 2023
Samuel Adams.

Hanged on a Venerable Elm

The shadow of Samuel Adams, a crafty and government-wary revolutionary, lingers over the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
by Colin Kidd via London Review of Books on January 25, 2023
Fossils in an exhibit demonstrating the evolution of horses.

The Bitter Dinosaur Feud At The Heart of Palaeontology

As two warring bone hunters sought to destroy each other, they laid the foundations for our knowledge of dinosaurs.
by Martha Henriques via BBC News on January 19, 2023
Black and white picture of J. Edgar Hoover, sitting at a desk, 1932.
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The FBI and the Madams

J. Edgar Hoover saw the political effectiveness of cracking down on elite brothel madams—but not their clients—in New York City.
by Matthew Wills, Jessica Pliley via JSTOR Daily on November 5, 2022
Collage of images of fetuses and placentas.

Fetal Rites

What we can learn from fifty years of anti-abortion propaganda.
by S. C. Cornell via The Drift on October 27, 2022
Painting of Jedidiah Morse with the Illuminati pyramid symbol over one eye.

Why the Founding Generation Fell So Hard for the Illuminati Story

They looked at France and said: “Make it make sense.”
by Jordan E. Taylor via Slate on October 24, 2022
Black and white photograph of person using binoculars to look at whales.

“Weather Bad and Whales Un-Cooperative”

Looking back at the misadventures of mid-century whale cardiology expeditions.
by Anna Guasco via Nursing Clio on October 13, 2022
Eight frames (in two rows of four) from "How It Feels To Be Run Over." The top four show a carriage full of people traveling along the road approaching the camera, while the bottom four read "Mother will be pleased."

“Mother Will Be Pleased”: "How It Feels to Be Run Over" (1900)

One of the earliest uses of intertitles, in this fin-de-siècle accident picture we can observe cinema discovering new forms of communication.
by Hunter Dukes via The Public Domain Review on October 6, 2022
Collage image of the book "Public Opinion," featuring a man reading a newspaper.

"Public Opinion" at 100

Walter Lippmann’s seminal work identified a fundamental problem for modern democratic society that remains as pressing—and intractable—as ever.
by André Forget via The Bulwark on September 16, 2022
Illustrations on the cover and inside of the book “Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls or War on the White Slave Trade," depicting poor woman behind bars and a rich woman dining with a man.
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The Supreme Court Letting States Mandate Morals Will End Badly

History shows laws will end up as weapons deployed in discriminatory ways to curtail freedom.
by Nancy Unger via Made By History on July 13, 2022
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