Roundup

Big Data and the Underground Railroad

by Alvaro M. Bedoya

Industry and government say “collect everything.” History suggests this is a bad idea.

Roundup Top 10!

This week's broad sampling of opinion pieces found on the Internet, as selected by the editors of HNN.

Those Stubborn Classics

by Ashley Thorne

Colleges exclude the classics for three reasons.

Did We Give the Pill Too Much Power?

by Elizabeth Weingarten

More than fifty years after the pill first came to market, its promise of access and equality remains unfulfilled for millions of other women.

Myth of the "English Speaking Peoples" a.k.a the UK-USA "Special Relationship"

by Nu’man Abd al-Wahid

There is nothing naturally inevitable about the current alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The Origins of the Shroud of Turin

by Charles Freeman

When the scope of this research is considered, it is obvious that many areas of its history and the iconography of its images have not been fully explored.

The Strange Cold War History of the Soviet Engines in the Antares Rocket

by Elias Groll

Where did these engines come from? And how did they end up on an American rocket?

Didn’t Everybody Love Reagan?

by Lloyd Green

"Reagan led America along a path it was willing to try and to take."

The Forgotten History of Mace, Designed by a 29-Year-Old and Reinvented as a Police Weapon

by Daniel A. Gross

When riots shook America, mace became a tool of crowd control instead of private protection.

Historical Lessons for a President Forced to Deal With a Hostile Congress

by Michael Beschloss

Modern presidential history suggests at least three plans of action for a president faced with an opposition House and Senate.

Two ideologically based societies have developed within the United States, and the differences between them are growing.

by Paul Starr

The country is stuck but it is not stationary. Some things are changing—just not at the federal level.

Whack-a-mole: A lesson in the unexpected consequences of ‘cleaning up’ politics

by Richard White

It is cynical to think that money is all that matters in American politics. But it is daft to think that money does not matter.

How One Soviet Submarine Commander Averted World War III

by Jennifer Ginsburg

For the torpedo to be launched, the submarine’s top three commanders had to agree, and one refused.

Tracing the origins of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement

by Ho-fung Hung

Recent opinion polls show that Hong Kong identity has been surging while Chinese identity has been fading among Hong Kong residents, particularly among youth.

Yitzhak Rabin’s legacy reconsidered

by Moshe Dann

Rabin’s legacy was the “Oslo process” which shifted national momentum from Zionism and Jewish sovereignty to Palestinianism and the “two state” delusion.

US Dilemma in Syria: Moderate Stronghold Falls to al-Qaeda, Fighters desert to Extremists

by Juan Cole

Not only did Syria Revolutionaries Front leader Jamal Marouf have to flee his hometown, but some of his fighters actually turned on him and joined the Succor Front.

LBJ's archived phone calls show a different side of power (video)

by Scott Calonico

Filed under the heading:  You can't always get what you want 

The Powerlessness of Positive Thinking

by Rick Perlstein

The battles over American history and censorship in Colorado are part of the longstanding cult of optimism on the Right.

Videochatting With Communists

by Julia Barton

As Cold War tensions came to a head, two men, working across the ocean from one another, became united in the quest to create conversations between Americans and Russians over the telephone lines.

America’s conspiracy mania: Why Ebola and 9/11 truthers reflect a tortured history

by Jonathan Zimmerman

From 9/11 to McCarthyism, we have a long history of conspiracy theories -- and government acts have encouraged them.