Current Events that Relate to History
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Book Review
When America’s Top Spies Were Academics and Librarians
How scholars achieved some of the most consequential intelligence victories of the twentieth century.The New Republic -
Book Excerpt
How Stephen Jay Gould Fought the Science Culture Wars
In the 1970s, a crop of books purporting to provide a scientific basis for gender inequality met sharp criticism from figures like Gould.Jacobin -
Comment
The Gulf of Mexico’s Long History of Colonization and Varying Names
Long before Trump expressed interest in a name change, conquerors have battled to claim the wealth of its rich waters.Retropolis -
Profile
When Chicago Hustled
In the late ’70s, a pro women’s hoops team briefly captivated the city by living up to its name. Then it all unraveled.Chicago Magazine -
Book Excerpt
How Ericka Huggins and the Black Panther Party Attempted to Liberate Black Women in America
On John Huggins, Angela Y. Davis, and the complex history of an oft-misunderstood political movement.Literary Hub -
Discovery
The CIA Illegally Spied on Puerto Rican and Mexican American Activists for Decades
And is probably still at it. As newly released classified documents confirm activists’ long-held suspicions, the disclosures should also alert us to current dangers.The Nation -
exhibit
Trumpism
A presidency often referred to as "unprecedented" has deep roots in American history.
From the HNN Archive
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Letting the World Scream
In 1984, the U.S. rejected the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, revealing its tendency to ignore international rules it sees as unfavorable — even when it helped write them. -
The Burned-Over District
The Northeast caught fire this fall, in a way that recalls its past. History has some lessons about how to manage the region’s fire seasons to come. -
The Other Sherman’s March
How the younger brother of the famous general set out to destroy the scourge of monopoly power. -
Knight Club
Were the Knights of the Golden Circle responsible for Lincoln’s assassination? No one knows, but far-right secret societies always draw power from speculation. -
The Forebears of JD Vance and the New Right
Revisiting the Agrarian-Distributists and their fabrication of an American past. -
Nuggets of Condescension
By universalizing their own economic history, Western observers have used the past to portray African economic culture as backward and inadequate.