History
122 articles-
How to Make the Bread That Fueled the Pyramids
And the beer that gave rise to civilizations, too. -
A Hymn Lost for a Millennium
AI helped piece together clay fragments to tell a new story of Babylon -
Monumental Burial Mounds Rewrite Ancient History
The colossal structures, built by hunter-gatherers, are way older than archaeologists had thought possible -
A Truer Story of Native America
Pulitzer-winner Kathleen DuVal on Indigenous power in colonial times -
The History Hidden in Names
Etchings in ancient Hebrew artifacts reveal nuanced social dynamics -
The Surprising History of Scientific Ballooning in 11 Missions
It started with farm animals—now it’s revealing secrets of the cosmos -
The Genius of Benjamin Franklin
Richard Munson’s 3 greatest revelations while writing Ingenious, his biography of Franklin, the scientist. -
How the Occult Gave Birth to Science
For scientists of yore anything—from mermaids to alchemy—was on the table. -
“This Is a Great Day with Me”
Alexander Graham Bell reflects on the very first telephone call in a letter to his father. -
Is Discovery Inevitable or Serendipitous?
The role of chance and predictability in scientific breakthroughs.
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The Force Was with Them
My generation of filmmakers shook up cinema forever. Where are history’s periodic surges of creativity taking us?
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Magic Died When Art and Science Split
Renée Bergland’s 3 greatest revelations while writing Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science.
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The Smartphone of the Middle Ages
An accident of lighting uncovers Jewish, European, and Islamic origins.
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Is Christianity Based on Psychedelic Trips?
A radical theory that pagan cults gave rise to early Christianity.
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The Age of Rebellion
The surprising relationship between age and success in rebellions. -
The Feminist Botanist
A 19th-century tale of hermaphrodite flowers, Charles Darwin, and women’s right to vote. -
The Prizefighters
If you want to know what it takes to succeed in science, head to the Nobel Prize ceremony. -
What a Bronze Age Skeleton Reveals About Cavities
Here’s a hint: He didn’t eat processed foods and sugar. -
Archaeology at the Bottom of the Sea
David Gibbins on his 3 greatest revelations while writing A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks.