Where Witch Hunts Began
Although witch hunts are associated with 17th-century Salem, tens of thousands of "witches" were killed in Europe from the 13th century on.
Why the Equal Rights Amendment Hasn’t Been Ratified Yet
Suffragist Alice Paul proposed the ERA in 1923. Congress approved it in the 1970s. So why isn't the amendment part of the Constitution?
The Women Who Tried to Prevent the Trail of Tears
In the 1830s, American women, including Catherine Beecher, worked to fight Andrew Jackson’s genocidal Indian Removal campaign.
Soccer and European Identity
Throughout Europe, soccer matches like the FIFA World Cup have become deeply significant, in part because that continent's identity is so complex.
“Saint” Anne Frank?
Pop culture has made Anne Frank into an icon, but one scholar notes that she was a terrified child trapped and killed by war, and should be seen as such.
The Marvelous Automata of Antiquity
Centuries before the computer, whimsical automata pushed the uncanny boundary between human and machine.
Pregnant Pioneers
For the frontier women of the 19th century, the experience of childbirth was harrowing, and even just expressing fear was considered a privilege.
Did Barack Obama Deserve the Nobel Prize?
Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He took the award not as a reward for accomplishments but as a "call to action."
Susan Fenimore Cooper, Forgotten Naturalist
Susan Fenimore Cooper, known as her father James Fenimore Cooper's secretary, is now being recognized as one of the nation's first environmentalists.
Hidden Poisons of the Royal Court
How noble lords and ladies, terrified of poison, unknowingly poisoned themselves on a daily basis.