The Gunpowder Plot, Redux
The cultural meaning of Guy Fawkes’ conspiracy to blow up the House of Lords has shifted, from countercultural symbol to HBO drama.
What Dorothy Porter’s Life Meant for Black Studies
Dorothy Porter, a Black woman pioneer in library and information science, created an archive that structured a new field.
When FDR Tried to Pack the Courts
Pushing New Deal legislation, FDR proposed that extra justices should be added to the Supreme Court, one for every sitting justice over the age of seventy.
Fingerprints and Crime
The first criminal conviction based on fingerprint evidence took place in Argentina on 1892, thanks to a police official inspired by eugenics.
Lesbianism (!) at the Convent
Mother Superior Benedetta Carlini, a visionary nun of Renaissance Italy, was accused of heresy and “female sodomy.”
Netflix Is A Questionable Historian
Brazilian social media is in an uproar about a recent Netflix show that portrays Brazilian political corruption. Can film and TV ever get history right?
How American Slavery Echoed Russian Serfdom
Russian serfdom and American slavery ended within two years of each other; the defenders of these systems of bondage surprisingly shared many of the same arguments.
How a Postage Stamp May Have Helped Create the Panama Canal
The decision to build a Panama Canal came about because of two lobbyists, one of whom thought a stamp would make a telling point.
The Age of the Bed Changed the Way We Sleep
One historian reconstructs what nighttime was like in early modern Europe, and how the darkness affected people's sleep patterns.