Roundup

Has the "Duck and Cover" World Returned

by Tom Engelhardt

The generation that came of age during the Cold War may have insight on the return of the nuclear threat, but "duck and cover" won't cut it. 

The History Behind "The Northman"

by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele

The new epic has been billed as the most historically accurate Viking epic to play on screen, but it's accuracy comes from its effort to capture the subjective nature of Norse spirituality and supernatural belief and the narrative forms recognized by medieval audiences.

Earth Day is a Chance to Win the Messaging War Against Polluters

by Laura J. Martin

Climate protectors are at war with the fossil fuels industry in the arena of public opinion, and they're losing. It's time to stop allowing Earth Day statements of corporate concern to substitute for real change. 

What Makes a Conservative Christian College?

by Andrea L. Turpin

What does it mean when a self-identified "Conservative Christian" college determines that it has violated its own mission by teaching Critical Race Theory? Is the violation religious or political in nature? 

Harvard President and Dean: Slavery Shaped the University

by Lawrence S. Bacow and Tomiko Brown-Nagin

Harvard's financial, infrastructural and intellectual legacies are unavoidably entangled with slavery. A new report is meant to signal the university's efforts at reckoning and reconciliation. 

Why Isn't Joetha Collier Known as a Victim of Racism in Mississippi?

by Keisha N. Blain

A young woman's murder by white men in 1971, on the day she graduated from a newly integrated high school, doesn't fit easily into a narrative framework established by Emmett Till's killing – of martyrdom leading to change for the better.

How Powerful Stories are Rebuilding a Church

by Deborah Fallows

"The stories of Mt. Holly have become the sinew that could connect the town, or borough, as it is officially designated, from its past glory days, through some recent decline, to a new version of thriving."

The Unbearable Whiteness of Ken Burns

by Timothy Messer-Kruse

In the context of today's battles over teaching the history of racism in America, the new Franklin documentary unfortunately uses its subject to spin a narrative of national self-correction that ignores historians' attention to conflict and struggle. 

The Dark Money Behind KBJ Attacks Is Coming for Public Schools

by Alyssa Bowen

"Dark Money" organizations allow a small group of elite families to use their wealth to control the content of education around the country. 

"Under the Banner" Improves, but Doesn't Sanitize, Book's Reductive History of Mormonism

by Benjamin E. Park

The new series raises questions about America's homegrown faith, and shakes off some of the source book's post-9/11 concerns with extremism and religious violence to show the complexity among different tendencies and branches of the faith. 

False Accusations of "Fascism" at Democrats, Like Those Biden Faces, are Nothing New

by Jon Marshall

Glenn Beck's accusation that Biden is leading a global elite cabal of fascists doesn't have to make sense when it spreads around the world on social media and cable TV. 

Ukraine's Nuclear Flash Point

by Michael Klare

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine backstopped by a nuclear arsenal, the days when nuclear war was unthinkable have clearly passed. 

The Decline of Tenure is the Greatest Threat to Higher Education

by Marc Stein

While states like Texas threaten tenure politically, in California the instititution is under attack by austerity and attrition; either way, higher education itself is threatened by the abandonment of employment security. 

The Russo-Ukrainian War At Sea: Retrospect and Prospect

by B.J. Armstrong

"The fact that our Twitter feeds and Instagram scrolls are not filled with naval or maritime news does not mean that nothing is happening."

Once More in Ukraine, Dehumanization Precursor to Mass Murder

by Anne Applebaum

Suppressing knowledge of the horrors of starvation inflicted on Ukrainians in the 1930s is a key to Russia's ability to use similar dehumanizing rhetoric to justify attacks on civilians today. 

Once More in Ukraine, Dehumanization Precursor to Mass Murder

by Anne Applebaum

Suppressing knowledge of the horrors of starvation inflicted on Ukrainians in the 1930s is a key to Russia's ability to use similar dehumanizing rhetoric to justify attacks on civilians today. 

Journalists and Academics: Stop Fighting!

by Maggie Doherty

How can academics and journalists better understand the relationship between their two camps? 

The Contradictions of AMLO and Mexico

by Humberto Beck and Patrick Iber

Mexico's first left-wing president in the era of competitive elections has followed through on populist promises to reduce inequality, but has increasingly personalized authority and equated loyalty to his regime with public service. 

The Roundup Top Ten for April 22, 2022

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

Visible Activism Key to Protecting Trans People From Discriminatory Laws

by Shay Ryan Olmstead

The legal strategies that LGBT groups have used to defend their rights and dignity in society may be less effective with hard-right judges on the bench. Direct action and activism outside the courts will be needed to make sure that the right doesn't use the law to target trans people for political gain.