Her Majesty’s Kidnappers
In the 17th century, Nathaniel Giles had the right to conscript young singers into the British royal children’s choir. He and a business partner went a step further.
Ione Quinby, Chicago’s Underappreciated “Girl Reporter”
She started off as a "stunt" journalist and moved into covering stories about women and crime in the Roaring Twenties.
How the Fascists Rewrote Spanish National History
National origin stories can be the stuff of fancy. Francoist Spain also showed how quickly those stories could be rewritten.
Santa and Mrs. Claus and the Christmas War of the Sexes
In the late nineteenth century, bachelor Santa got married. Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Claus contributed uncompensated labor to the Claus household.
The Forgotten Craze of Women’s Endurance Walking
Hardy athletes called pedestriennes wowed the sporting world of the nineteenth century. They also shocked guardians of propriety.
Early Television in the Soviet Union
Communist Party officials saw potential in the new technology in the 1950s. So did ordinary people, but not always in the same way.
Did Communists Really Infiltrate American Schools?
Fears that teachers were indoctrinating kids were rampant in the 1950s. But the reality was more complicated.
AIDS, from the Perspective of “Patient Zero”
We now know a great deal about how the man who's often blamed for the AIDS epidemic saw himself and his community. That's important.
What Does It Mean to Be a Matriarchy?
Using the definition that European theorists invented in the nineteenth century may not work for every society, like the Khasi.