History

black and white photo of j. robert oppenheimer testifying before the senate

Even as the Oppenheimer Film Rights a Historic Wrong, the Memo That Smeared Him Remains Redacted Even as the Oppenheimer Film Rights a Historic Wrong, the Memo That Smeared Him Remains Redacted

The physicist was punished for opposing development of the hydrogen bomb, and for warning about the dangers of nuclear proliferation.

Jul 21, 2023 / Peter Shinkle

“Bidenomics” vs. “Reaganomics”

“Bidenomics” vs. “Reaganomics” “Bidenomics” vs. “Reaganomics”

What will it take for Biden’s economic agenda to transform the political landscape the way to Reagan’s did?

Jul 21, 2023 / Editorial / Mike Konczal

Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) attends a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

Josh Hawley Gets an “F” in American History Josh Hawley Gets an “F” in American History

The senator from Missouri is spreading misinformation about the past in order to put a Christian nationalist spin on the present.

Jul 13, 2023 / John Nichols

Black and white photo of pallbearers carrying the coffin of Robert Kennedy

The Other Kennedy Curse The Other Kennedy Curse

Kennedy family mythology is bad history, bad politics—and perhaps as unfair to the living Kennedys as to anyone else.

Jul 11, 2023 / Column / Jeet Heer

“Portrait of Juan de Pareja,” by Diego Velázquez

The Many Ghosts of Juan de Pareja The Many Ghosts of Juan de Pareja

Through the life of the 17th-century artist, we can find an entangled history of slavery, Black figuration, and art.

Jul 11, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

Elliott Abrams looking pensive

Henry Kissinger, Elliott Abrams, and the Rot of American Foreign Policy Henry Kissinger, Elliott Abrams, and the Rot of American Foreign Policy

Our bipartisan elite is always willing to forgive war crimes by its made men.

Jul 7, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Mario Vargas Llosa, London, 1986.

The Miseducation of Mario Vargas Llosa The Miseducation of Mario Vargas Llosa

A recent collection, The Call of the Tribe, explains why the Peruvian writer rejected the left and embraced the thinking of Friedrich Hayek and his ilk.

Jul 5, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jack Hanson

Frederick Douglass

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass

This is the perfect time to read the entirety of Frederick Douglass’s famous speech, and not merely because of the date on the calendar.

Jul 4, 2023 / Dave Zirin

Scene from History of the World Part I

Our Supreme Court Reactionaries Still Fear the French Revolution Our Supreme Court Reactionaries Still Fear the French Revolution

In John Roberts’s America, it’s good to be the king.

Jul 3, 2023 / Jeet Heer

The Long and Sometimes Lost History of Trans

The Long and Sometimes Lost History of Trans The Long and Sometimes Lost History of Trans

To borrow a phrase from the photographer and activist Samra Habib, “We have always been here”—or, at least, people somewhat like us have always been here.

Jun 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephanie Burt

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