HNN Topics

• 
• 5/18/2022
  

  Historians on the Mainstreaming of the "Great Replacement" Myth

  by HNN Staff

  This conspiratorial view of a plot by elites to replace whites with nonwhite and immigrants has moved from the far-right fringe to cable news and appears to have played a part in the radicalization of several mass shooters. Historians discuss what it is and what it means. 

• 
• 4/12/2022
  

  Republican Midterm Strategy: Anti-LGBTQ Culture War?

  Historians discuss the return of sex-panic politics as states pass "don't say gay" laws and equate information about sexuality with "grooming" for sexual abuse.

• 
• 3/22/2022
  

  Senate Votes to Confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS After Contentious Hearings

  Historians weigh in on Justice Jackson's historic appointment and the partisanship of the confirmation hearings. 

• 
• 2/22/2022
  

  Historians on the Ukraine Invasion

  Historians weigh in on the unfolding crisis as evidence of widespread attacks on civilians emerges.

• 
• 2/10/2022
  

  Historians on the Harvard Sexual Harassment Scandal

  Two competing open letters pitted Harvard faculty against each other over discipline imposed on anthropology professor John Comaroff. Then a federal lawsuit made the full range of accusations against the professor and the university public. 

• 
• 11/15/2021
  

  Historians on the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial

  As Kyle Rittenhouse's trial advances to jury deliberation, historians weigh in. 

• 
• 11/10/2021
  

  Claiming Academe is Restrictive, Group of Scholars, Pundits and Tech Investors Announce University of Austin

  Is this venture an antidote to academic conformity, or a platform for a circle of like-minded thinkers? Historians weigh in on the University of Austin announcement.

• 
• 9/14/2021
  

  Mandates For COVID Vaccines Spark Controversy

  As Republican governors and legislatures refuse to require vaccination, the Biden administration institutes significant federal mandates. Historians discuss vaccination, choice, and public health.

• 
• 9/2/2021
  

  Leaked Draft of SCOTUS Abortion Decision Rejects Roe, Tees Up Obergefell, Griswold, Lawrence

  by HNN Staff

  Samuel Alito's leaked decision heavily invokes history to argue that rights based on personal privacy have no place in the American cultural or legal tradition. Historians weigh in. 

• 
• 8/17/2021
  

  After US Withdrawal, Taliban Takes Power Again

  by HNN Staff

  Historians discuss the roots of the Afghan conflict, the conduct of the American invasion and presence, and the consequences of withdrawal. 

• 
• 8/3/2021
  

  New York AG Report: Cuomo Sexually Harassed Multiple Women, Retaliated Against Accuser

  Attorney General Letitia James's report details allegations against the governor by multiple women; Cuomo has rejected calls to resign. 

• 
• 7/27/2021
  

  The House January 6th Commission Begins Hearings

  The hearings began with the testimony of beseiged Capitol Police. 

• 
• 3/30/2021
  

  The Bessemer, Alabama Amazon Union Election Campaign

  Historians look at the just-concluded union election campaign at Amazon's Alabama facilty and await the results. 

• 
• 3/22/2021
  

  Historians Address the Metro Atlanta Shootings

  Historians try to untangle the threads of anti-Asian prejudice, misogyny, evangelical religion, masculinity and gun culture that appear to have contributed to the killing of eight people in Atlanta-area spas.

• 
• 3/2/2021
  

  Historians on CPAC 2021

  The annual conservative meeting showed that Donald Trump still holds the steering wheel of the Republican Party. Historians on the speeches, the stage design, and the golden idol. 

• 
• 2/17/2021
  

  Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70, Influenced Combative Conservatism Over the Airwaves

  by HNN Staff

  The talk radio host energized conservatives and disgusted others with racist, misogynistic, gay-bashing rhetoric, building a lucrative media empire and a culture of politicized resentment. 

• 
• 2/18/2021
  

  The Texas Weather and Power Catastrophe

  by HNN Staff

  The combination of severe winter storms and persistent cold and a deregulated energy supply system without compulsion to invest in winterization has left Texans without power, heat or drinking water for days. Senator Ted Cruz appears to have decamped to Cancun while politicians blame wind and solar power for frozen natural gas refineries.

• 
• 2/4/2021
  

  How Do You Solve a Problem Like Marjorie?

  The House of Representatives has voted, mostly on party lines, to remove Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments in response to her statements endorsing the Capitol riots and conspiracy theories that school shootings were hoaxes and California wildfires were started by the Rothschild banking family using space lasers.

• 
• 1/22/2021
  

  Historians Pay Tribute to Hank Aaron

  by HNN Staff

  Hank Aaron, an all-time great of baseball and for many years its all-time leader in home runs, passed away at age 86 on January 22. Historians recall him as a player, an advocate for civil rights inside and outside the game, and a man who was uneasy being made into a symbol of progress against racism.

• 
• 1/21/2021
  

  Biden Takes Office, Takes Stock, and Begins to Take Action

  After an unusual inaugural ceremony, Joe Biden signed a slew of executive orders and released a COVID action plan.