The radioactive plume from the bomb dropped on Nagasaki City, as seen from 9.6 km away, in Koyagi-jima, Japan, August 9, 1945.

Hiding The Radiation of the Atomic Bombs

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. came with censorship and obfuscation about the effects of the radiation on those who were exposed.
Thurgood Marshall, 1967

Drafting a Constitution: Thurgood Marshall in Kenya

In 1960, before his nomination as a US Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall helped frame the constitution that would serve a new country.
George Psalmanazar

Grifting In The 18th Century: The Grift Remains the Same

When faking an identity, it helps to choose something foreign to your audience.
anti-apartheid marchers on their way to Twickenham rugby ground in 1970

Fighting Apartheid with Sports

Apartheid policies that segregated sports in South Africa were challenged by its own athletes, as well as internationally.
The Prince of Wales posing with a tiger he shot on his tour of Nepal, India, on December 18, 1921

The Prince of Wales’ 1921 Trip to India Was a Royal Disaster

Prince Edward's visit began the end of the monarchy’s influence in India.
Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 11 June 1690

Britain’s Blueprint for Colonialism: Made in Ireland

The British Empire began developing its colonialization tactics in Ireland and Canada, before exporting them throughout the world.
Photograph: A Russian orphan in Kiev during the famine. Her parents died from starvation and she survives on charity from a neighbour. 1934

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.
Paris, France, 1900

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.
Spring desert wildflowers in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, CA

Making the (California) Desert Bloom

The question of Zionism in post World War II America did not have a single answer. One group proposed bringing agriculture to the California desert instead.
FNV headquarters occupied by sympathizers of the British mine strikers; the police remove the activists

How LGBTQ Groups Supported Striking Miners vs. Thatcher

During a national miners strike, LGBT activists became unexpected allies, united against the Thatcher government.