History

Skeletons used in a museum in Amsterdam. They are posed in various positions for working; sawing wood, doing housework, carrying planks, office work, etc.

Why Americans Are Obsessed With Poor Posture Why Americans Are Obsessed With Poor Posture

A recent history of the 20th-century movement to fix slouching questions the moral and political dimensions of addressing bad backs over wider public health concerns.

Nov 20, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Zoe Adams

A detail of a painting by Thomas Nast.

Slavery in an Age of Emancipation Slavery in an Age of Emancipation

Robin Blackburn’s sweeping history of slavery and freedom in the 19th century.

Nov 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Manisha Sinha

The German reformer Thomas Muntzer (1491–1525) and his people during the German Peasants' War (1524–25). Colored engraving. 19th century.

Thomas Müntzer’s Misunderstood Revolution Thomas Müntzer’s Misunderstood Revolution

A recent biography of the German preacher and leader of the Peasants’s War examines what remains radical about the short-lived rebellion he led.

Nov 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Matt Broomfield

This man has done worse than accept free flights on Turkish Airlines.

The Real Scandal in New York City The Real Scandal in New York City

What’s worse than taking illegal foreign campaign contributions? Mayor Eric Adams’s failure to meet the city’s glaring needs.

Oct 29, 2024 / D.D. Guttenplan

The view from the Taipei 101 tower, 2020.

What No One Talks About When They Talk About Taiwan What No One Talks About When They Talk About Taiwan

In so many histories, writers so often ignore the social movements and underclass that helped define island nation's destiny.

Oct 24, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Brian Hioe

US Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2021.

Everything Visible and Invisible About the War on Terror Everything Visible and Invisible About the War on Terror

A conversation with Richard Beck about his new book, Homeland, and the profound consequences of America’s wars abroad on our polarized politics and our fractured way of life.

Oct 23, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Grayson Scott

A sign at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

How Did the Democrats Get Here? How Did the Democrats Get Here?

Talking with Tim Shenk about party realignment, the legacy of 1990s political consultants, the 2024 election, and his new book, Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics.

Oct 22, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Vintage illustration of a couple in bed adjusting their futuristic home automation system; screen print, 1955.

The Crisis in the Care Economy The Crisis in the Care Economy

How was care commodified? And what has that meant for an undervalued but increasingly important workforce.

Oct 16, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Maia Silber

German Jewish refugees looking through portholes aboard an ocean liner arriving in Antwerp, 1939.

What the Jewish History of Exile Means Now What the Jewish History of Exile Means Now

A recent book on Jewish identity before and after Zionism shows the limitations of a progressive critique that doesn't truly account for the experience of Palestinians.

Oct 14, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Eli Rudavsky

Stefan Bakałowicz's “Roman poet Catullus reading to his friends” (1885).

The Age-Old Struggle of Translating Catullus The Age-Old Struggle of Translating Catullus

A crisp new rendering of the Roman poet’s poems underlines how difficult it is to fully relate all his complexities and contradictions.

Oct 3, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Nicolas Liney

x