Oprah and Obamas

How Oprah Became a Cultural Icon

The idea of a President Oprah has sparked excitement rather than ridicule. Americans value symbolism as much as political experience; while Oprah has little of the latter, she is practically made of the former.
Warsaw Ghetto

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Jewish Identity

How do identity politics work in extremis? The resistance in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had to both suppress and amplify their Jewishness.
Woodrow and Edith Wilson

Could the Twenty-Fifth Amendment Spark a National Crisis?

One scholar's opinion: the Twenty-Fifth Amendment is a Pandora's Box.
Martin Luther King Jr and LBJ

Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words

The writings of Martin Luther King, not so well known as his speeches and acts of civil disobedience, are a rich source for those researching his life.
English tea time

The Extremely Un-British Origins of Tea

Tea is bound up in the nation's history of colonial expansion. British tea drinkers preferred Chinese tea at first, and had to be convinced on patriotic grounds to drink tea from India.
Hogarth crime

The First Moral Panic: London, 1744

The late summer crime wave of 1744 London sparked an intense moral panic about crime that burnt itself out by the new year. But not before heads rolled.
Young Ronald Reagan

How Ronald Reagan Was Affected by his Father’s Alcoholism

Robert E. Gilbert argues that the key to understanding Ronald Reagan is knowing that he was the child of an alcoholic.
New Years Eve 1910

The Lost Tradition of New Year’s Day Calling

The colonial Dutch tradition of making social calls on New Year's Day in New York was no match for 19th-century-style partying.
Samurai battle on old vintage Japanese screen

Whatever Happened to the Samurai?

Warriors rarely give up their power, but the samurai of Japan dwindled away rapidly after the Meiji Restoration and the modernization of the country.
Cornel West

Cornel West: Neoliberalism Has Failed Us

West speaks on Obama’s legacy, the failures of American empire, and the role of race in Trump’s election.