Close Calls: When the Cold War Almost Went Nuclear
Most of the nuclear near-misses during the Cold War were kept under wraps, and they still make for unnerving reading in the twenty-first century.
A Cold War Baby: Happy Birthday, Alvin!
The submersible Alvin is sixty years old this year. Numerous overhauls and upgrades have kept the craft going down (and coming back up!).
Policing Radicals: Britain vs. the United States
British policing of Communism before and into the Cold War has often been compared favorably with America’s witch-hunt hysteria. But was it really better?
Tanzania in the Cold War Crucible
After the US-Belgian assassination of the Congo’s first Prime Minister, leaders in Tanganyika and Zanzibar worried they would be given the same treatment.
Neutrality: Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
While Sweden has claimed a position of neutrality for more than two centuries, its policy of non-alignment was somewhat ambiguous during the Cold War.
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 Lavender Scare
In 1950, the U.S. State Department fired 91 employees because they were homosexual or suspected of being homosexual.
Understanding Planet-Wide Danger
The way Americans metabolized the global threat of nuclear war has had lasting effects on how we think about our newest global threat: climate change.
Cold Warriors Tanked Big Pharma Regulation
Worried about the high price of prescription drugs, a senator proposed a bill that would have regulated Big Pharma -- back in the 1950s.
Socialist Sci-Fi Reimagined the Future
The 1960 East German film The Silent Star provided a significant cautionary tale for the Cold War era.