Current Events that Relate to History
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Book ReviewA Man-Made Disaster
There has never been a moral and historical reckoning with the horrors inflicted by the Allied firebombing of Japan during World War II.New York Review of Books -
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2026 Iran war
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ComparisonThe AI Data Center Boom Looks a Lot Like the Railroad Bubble
Massive data centers are rising to power AI. The hype echoes how the railroad barons once sold their vision of the future leaving the public paying the costs.Dame Magazine -
ComparisonThe Uncanny Echoes of Iraq in Trump’s War With Iran
The president has often defined his foreign policy approach in opposition to the Bush administration’s, but he is following in its footsteps.New Lines -
AnnotationAn Unsettling Civil War Photograph
An image from the Battle of the Wilderness.The Yale Review -
ArgumentSectarianism Has Never Ended a War
Antiwar movements succeed through broad, focused mass action, not sectarian rhetoric or liberal compromise, using Vietnam-era lessons for today.Jacobin -
exhibitAmerica's Pastime
Histories of big league baseball, from the achievements of the players to the culture of the stands to the stories and traditions we pass down.
From the HNN Archive
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What Has His Billion Dollars Made of Him?
Finding shades of Elon Musk in Upton Sinclair’s 1937 novel about Henry Ford. -
There’s No Business Like Coup Business
In 1876, Porfirio Díaz successfully deposed the Mexican government. He couldn’t have done it without the help of powerful Americans. -
The Bad Bunny Doctrine
The Superbowl LX halftime show tapped into a 200-year old tradition of elevating hemisphere over nation in the struggle against imperial rule. -
An Appeal for Inaction
On the United States’ 150th birthday, Calvin Coolidge said that the country’s work was done. Not everyone agreed. -
Governing by Police
The Metropolitan Police Department in DC has been an essential component of Washington politics since its founding.