Current Events that Relate to History
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OverviewHow the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Enabled the Nation’s Capital to Govern Itself—With Oversight
Far from being a new debate, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itself.Smithsonian Magazine -
Book ExcerptHow the AIDS Epidemic Led to the Creation of Sex Ed in America
On the grim legacy of Ronald Reagan.Literary Hub -
LongreadHow Decades of Folly Led to War in Ukraine
For decades, US hostility towards Russia and continued NATO encroachment ever further into Eastern Europe have laid the groundwork for the current crisis.Compact -
ProfileCurtis Yarvin’s Cranky Yearnings
He didn’t give the tech right new ideas—not really. What he gave them was permission.The Bulwark -
RetrievalThe CIA Trained Fulgencio Batista’s Torturers in Cuba
The Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities, known for its blood-spattered record of torture and political killings, was backed by the CIA.Jacobin -
NarrativeCommanders-in-Heat VII: Flatline & Spin
The first modern presidential death was also the first medical mystery America refused to let go.Study Marry Kill -
exhibitThe Soviets and US
The contours and legacies of the most consequential political rivalry of the 20th century.
From the HNN Archive
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How to Succeed in Government Without Really Trying
The long history of promising an “efficient” federal government. -
So Ductile Is History in the Hands of Man!
The past and present of counterfactual history, from antiquity to the Napoleonic Wars to a few very active subreddits. -
Indifferent to the Fate of Freedom Elsewhere
Jimmy Carter is known for his defense of human rights worldwide. But in 1979, he threatened to deport thousands of Iranian student protesters. -
Elevating the Few
What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration. -
Whose Side Are College Administrators On?
There’s a long history of politicians targeting student protesters — and of campus leaders abetting those efforts. -
Solve for AI
What the history of the pocket calculator reveals about the future of AI in classrooms. -
“At Any Future Time”
In 1880, the daughter of a Welsh politician turned to fiction to expose perspectives missing from the official record, upending histories for generations to come. -
Letting the World Scream
In 1984, the U.S. rejected the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, revealing its tendency to ignore international rules it sees as unfavorable — even when it helped write them. -
Scared Out of the Community
Between 1929 and 1939 approximately half a million Mexicans left the United States. Many of the departing families included American-born children to whom Mexico, not the United States, was the foreign land. -
When Good Housekeeping Meant Getting Vaccinated Against Polio
The pages of 1950s lifestyle magazines offer a glimpse of a time when childhood vaccines were anything but controversial.