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Sep 13, 2015

Did You Know California Requires Professors to Sign a Loyalty Oath?

by Marc Stein

Here’s why that is troubling.

Sep 13, 2015

The Forebears of Trumpism

by Leo P. Ribuffo

Where does Donald Trump fit into the bricolage of countersubversives, bigots, and opportunists?

Sep 13, 2015

It’s Time to Retire Smokey Bear

by Stephen Pyne

Baby Boomers love him. But he needs to go.

Sep 13, 2015

So GOP Voters Seem Drawn to Presidential Candidates Who Never Won an Election? They Should Be Careful What They Wish For.

by David O. Stewart

Presidents without electoral experience don’t do so well.

Sep 8, 2015

Did You Know It Cost $19 to Delete Your Ashley Madison Account?

by Daniel J. Robinson

Infidelity’s lingering social taboo, along with fear of discovery by spouse or family, provided the necessary motivation to pay. This has historical roots.

Sep 6, 2015

From the Folks Who Brought You the Civil War: The Political Legacy of Slavery

by Mark Stoll

Southern slaveowners Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson injected the word “freedom” into politics. But they didn't mean freedom for everybody. We live with that legacy.

Sep 3, 2015

Why Forest Fires Seem Like They Are Getting Out of Control

by Stephen J. Pyne

It's not your imagination. Things are worse. Here's why.

Sep 2, 2015

Let's Hear It for Ohio and Its Presidents -- But that Alaska Mountain Should Be Called Denali

by James Robenalt

"My only problem with the way this was handled was that it seemed as if Ohioans and their presidents were once again being disrespected."

Sep 2, 2015

What Does Ben Carson's Popularity Say About GOP Voters?

by Robert Brent Toplin

It's assumed by many that they're racists (which would account for the heated demonization of Barack Obama). But maybe the opposition to Obama is just political gamesmanship.

Aug 30, 2015

This Is What Black Lives Matter Is All About

by Ron Briley

... and what it isn't about. Hint: Black privilege.

Aug 23, 2015

The Historical Ironies of the Right-Wing Movement Against Common Core

by Andrew Hartman

Both left and right critics have assailed Common Core. Here's the debate in historical perspective.

Aug 23, 2015

Should Carly Fiorina Go All In to Qualify for the First String Reagan Library Debate in September?

by Mark Nevin

Nelson Rockefeller’s unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 should give her pause.

Aug 23, 2015

Worried About Big Insurance Company Mergers? You Should Be.

by Christy Ford Chapin

What history tells us is that the system is broken.

Aug 15, 2015

10 Presidents Who Have Personally Killed People

by Mark Hallum

Many politicians publicly endorse capital punishment. But would it make a difference if they had to personally put people to death? Social science suggests it might.

Aug 14, 2015

Did the Founding Fathers Believe In American Exceptionalism?

by Sheldon Stern

Like John Adams, they were for the most part confident that the new United States was on the cusp of a brilliant future. But they did not believe that Americans, as a people, were exempt from the flaws and faults of other nations and peoples.