History

Joaquin Phoenix in “Napoleon.”

History According to Ridley Scott History According to Ridley Scott

Ultimately what we learn in Napoleon says far more about the director than it does about Napoleon.

Dec 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mike Duncan

Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust 

Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust  Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust 

In Zones of Interest and Occupied City, the two filmmakers attempt to depict the ordinary fascism and everyday violence of World War II.

Dec 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

Representative Mike Johnson leaves a House Republican conference meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on October 24, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Mike Johnson’s “18th-Century Values” Mike Johnson’s “18th-Century Values”

The new speaker of the House says he's a history buff. But has he learned from it, or is he condemned to repeat it?

Nov 30, 2023 / Column / Katha Pollitt

Seeing Japanese American Heritage Through Ansel Adams’s Lens

Seeing Japanese American Heritage Through Ansel Adams’s Lens Seeing Japanese American Heritage Through Ansel Adams’s Lens

A photographer excavates personal history through reconstruction of Adams's World War II photographs of Japanese Americans interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center.

Nov 29, 2023 / Joseph Maida

This family owned their own farm near Haifa. They fled when the British mandate ended and it became certain Israel would control the town. Today they are refugees in a camp near Gaza. The only possession they still have is a padded blanket.

The Long, Bloody History of the Israel-Gaza “Border” The Long, Bloody History of the Israel-Gaza “Border”

The current conflict has its roots in the 75-year struggle over the constantly shifting physical boundaries between Israel and the Palestinians whose land it has occupied.

Nov 29, 2023 / Anne Irfan

Former speaker of the House Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) listens during a press conference with members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party at the Cannon House Office Building on November 15, 2023.

Kevin McCarthy’s Empire of Lies Kevin McCarthy’s Empire of Lies

The former House speaker is currently spouting a wildly inaccurate take on the history of American empire.

Nov 28, 2023 / John Nichols

Berlin, December 22, 1989.

Can the European Union Be Salvaged? Can the European Union Be Salvaged?

New books by Timothy Garton Ash and Loukas Tsoukalis document the moral and political exhaustion of the “EU” generation.

Nov 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

“Untitled (Strike),” Dox Thrash, c. 1940.

The Radical Art of the Depression Years The Radical Art of the Depression Years

By working within the constraints of the WPA, artists like Philip Guston discovered new modes of representation and irony.

Nov 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

FDR, Thanksgiving 1933.

FDR Taught Us How to Talk Politics on Thanksgiving FDR Taught Us How to Talk Politics on Thanksgiving

The 32nd president used his holiday proclamations to call for “the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice.”

Nov 23, 2023 / John Nichols

A photo of a group of people gathered, from behind, looking up at a bare tree and a statue.

Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving? Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving?

Sean Sherman argues that we need to decolonize Thanksgiving, while Chase Iron Eyes calls for replacing Thanksgiving with a “Truthsgiving.”

Nov 20, 2023 / The Debate / Sean Sherman and Chase Iron Eyes

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