Fidel Castro

Why Did Fidel Castro Infuriate the U.S. So Much?

Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary and leader who dominated his small island nation's history for half a century, is dead at 90.
Kirchner, Berlin Street Scene

The Weimar Republic: Gone But Not Forgotten

The Weimar Republic is famous for failing, but considering its turmoil and crisis, it's surprising how long it actually lasted.
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

How A Gambling Duchess Changed British Politics

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, won and lost fortunes, giving into a compulsion that pitted her against some of society’s most notorious ne’er-do-wells.
Catherine Howard

Did Materialism Lead to the Death of a Tudor Queen?

The very things that made Catherine Howard's time as Henry VIII's queen so pleasant became a cudgel with which to beat her.
John Aubrey

Archiving the Inventor of the Archive

Scholarship traces the birth of the archive to natural philosophers like John Aubrey.
Battle of Hastings tapestry

The Battle of Hastings and the Ongoing Fight for Britain

Nine hundred and fifty years ago, Normans sailed across the English Channel, landing on England on September 27, 1066. The Norman Conquest had begun.
Nikita Khrushchev

The Power of Anecdotes in Politics

The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev famously pounded his shoe at a United Nations meeting in 1960. Anecdotes of erratic behavior like this are unsettling.
Soviet Hippie

The Unlikely Hippies of the USSR

On the little-known hippie youth culture of the USSR.
French trench in WWI

The Power of Deterrence

The First World War witnessed the first major use of chemical warfare, but by the Second World War deterrence seemed to work. 
Indian Haggadah

High Holy Days in Mumbai

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are the "High Holy Days" of the Jewish calendar.