Chien-Shiung Wu, the First Lady of Physics
Chien-Shiung Wu disproved a fundamental law of physics—a stunning achievement that helped earn her male colleagues (but not her) a Nobel Prize.
Sergei Eisenstein and the Haitian Revolution
Why was the legendary Soviet filmmaker rebuffed in his vision of putting history's most consequential slave revolt on screen?
How a Forbidden Russian Epic Finally Got Published
Soviet dissident Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate was "arrested" by the KGB in 1961. Here's how it finally saw the light of day.
How American Girl Scouts Shocked Mexico in the 1950s
At a retreat center called Our Cabaña, girls from all over the world became Cold War–era diplomats. American scouts had additional ideas.
The Origins of the Mug Shot
US police departments began taking photographs of people they arrested in the 1850s.
Can Thucydides Teach Us Why We Go to War?
A contemporary scholar uses the ancient Greek historian to explain the 1968 Pueblo Crisis in North Korea.
These Posters from Mao’s China Taught Public Health Awareness
A series of reforms known as the Patriotic Health Campaign brought colorful posters depicting good hygiene and workplace safety practices.
Chivalric Romance, Meet Gunpowder Reality
The manly knight wouldn't have lasted a day in sixteenth-century combat. So why was he so popular as a literary figure at the time?
How Thomas Mann Turned against the German Right
The best-selling author supported the Kaiser during World War I. What made him change his mind about politics later?