History
124 articles-
The Dangers of Hot Air
What happens when we backpedal on basic science -
Neanderthals Might Have Shared Family Recipes
Cave remains found in Israel point to unique, locally specific culinary practices among our ancient ancestors -
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.
-
The Force Was with Them
My generation of filmmakers shook up cinema forever. Where are history’s periodic surges of creativity taking us?
-
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.
-
The Smartphone of the Middle Ages
An accident of lighting uncovers Jewish, European, and Islamic origins. -
Is Christianity Based on Psychedelic Trips?
A radical theory that pagan cults gave rise to early Christianity. -
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.