Memorializing Life Under Soviet Terror
A Russian court has ruled the country's oldest human rights organization must be dissolved. The work they do required trust from those who had lived under Stalin.
Antisemitism at the 1932 Winter Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics were a small foreshadowing of what was to come in 1936 Berlin.
Graffiti: Jaytalking in 19th Century Paris
The files of Paris police from the late nineteenth century reveal the tumultuous politics of the time through the graffiti recorded in them.
Colonial Civility and Rage on the American Frontier
A 1763 massacre by colonial settlers exposed the irreconcilable contradictions of conquest by people concerned with civility.
Even in Kazakhstan, Bitcoin Can’t Escape Geopolitics
People in Kazakhstan have been protesting energy prices, and met with violence by the government. What does Bitcoin have to do with it?
Were Early American Prisons Similar to Today’s?
A correctional officer’s history of 19th century prisons and modern-day parallels. From Sing Sing to suicide watch, torture treads a fine line.
Mesmerizing Labor
The man who introduced mesmerism to the US was a slave-owner from Guadeloupe, where planters were experimenting with “magnetizing” their enslaved people.
White Shoes, WASPs and Law Firms
Law firms founded on Protestant identity necessitated the creation of firms that would hire those shut out by WASP gatekeeping.
Burning Kelp for War
World War I saw the availability of potash plummet, while its price doubled. The US found this critical component for multiple industries in Pacific kelp.
The Age of the Birth Certificate
When states began restricting labor by children, verifying a person's age became an important means of enforcement.