Historians in the News

New Book Questions Value of Established Treatment Methods in Age of Fentanyl

Amy C. Sullivan tells the history of the "Minnesota Model" of inpatient treatment followed by sponsorship and 12-step recovery, but says the model isn't working for the opioid epidemic and a pragmatic "harm reduction" approach is needed. 

Adam Tooze: How Sanctions Work (and Why they Often Don't)

On the "Ones and Tooze" Podcast, Adam Tooze examines economic sanctions against Iran, which have inflicted pain on the population without impacting the country's nuclear program. 

Can We Teach Grad Students in the Humanities to Collaborate?

by Leonard Cassuto

Historians “do everything alone,” said Professor Rita Chin of the University of Michigan. The archival work, the thinking, the writing — all are structured as solitary pursuits.

Blair Mountain, West Virginia Still Shows the Grip of the Coal Industry

“It was kind of weird growing up, knowing that there was a war fought here and nobody knew about it, and there’s no monuments to it,” Professor Chuck Keeney said. Others believe the story of the mine wars has been suppressed because it challenges the image of big coal as a benevolent force in the state. 

Not Humane, Just Invisible: A Counternarrative to Samuel Moyn’s “Humane”

by Priya Satia

A historian of empire takes issue with a recent book examining the contradiction between changes that make war supposedly less brutal while also making it les 

Tiya Miles Connects Generations of Black Women Through One Artifact

All That She Carried is the history of a single bag. Historian and author Tiya Miles used what few historical records she could find to tell the stories of three generations of Black women with ties to that sack dating back to 1850.

Has the Myth of the "Good War" Done America Harm?

Remembrance of the second world war obscures the ambivalence many Americans felt about the conflict and the frequent divergence of military strategy and propaganda from the noble ideals of freedom and democracy. Elizabeth Samet's book asks if the myth of the good war has encouraged war since.

The Last, Best Chance to Bolster Democracy May Have Passed

by Perry Bacon, Jr.

Thomas Zimmer offers insight on the growing commitment of the Republican Party to lock in one-party rule wherever they can. 

Review: How the Germans Coped With Defeat

by Richard J. Evans

Monica Black's new book argues that irrationality and mysticism filled the cultural void created by defeat and the discrediting of Nazism in postwar Germany; Richard Evans says it doesn't quite prove its case, but offers insight into the present spread of nonsense on social media.

Smithsonian's Ten Best History Books of 2021

The titles chosen offer an escape from the present while also showing our connections to the past. 

Black Voices Excluded from Critical Race Theory Debates in Virginia

“The parents who are outraged right now and spreading this misinformation about teaching critical race theory ... why were they not concerned about [slavery] being taught as if it was a game?”

New Book Revisits the Debate over NYC's Iconic Subway Maps

For fans of transit cartography, the New York Subway Map Debate of April 20, 1978, is remembered as a legendary showdown between two irreconcilable approaches.

What Will it Look Like if Abortion Becomes a Crime Again?

Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, America's law enforcement and mass incarceration systems have grown, and women are already today the fastest-growing imprisoned demographic. What happens if the widespread practice of abortion is criminalized? 

What Can 19th Century Whaling Diaries Tell Us About Climate Change?

Whaling ships' logbooks contain detailed navigational notes and descriptions of wind and weather, which can help construct a picture of climate patterns on distant stretches of ocean. 

Lizabeth Cohen: Why Americans Buy So Much Stuff

As holiday shopping overlaps with historic supply chain disruptions, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Lizabeth Cohen on the economy's reliance on spending and the culture of consumerism in the U.S.

The Rise and Fall (And Rise?) of Labor

Historian Erik Loomis discusses whether the wave of labor activism will start to reverse a half-century of successful union busting by big business. 

US-Based Brazilian Historians Write Open Letter Protesting Bolsonaro's National Archivist Appointment

Historians charge that the appointment is part of Bolsonaro's campaign to whitewash the image of Brazil's period of military dictatorship and justify his own authoritarian ambitions.

Isaac Chotiner Interviews Martin Indyk about Henry Kissinger

Does Martin Indyk's new book on Henry Kissinger, who is a personal friend, have enough critical distance between subject and author, asks interviewer Isaac Chotiner.

Deborah Lipstadt Appointment to Global Antisemitism Monitor Blocked by Partisan Obstructionism

"Right now, American influence is MIA and real Jews are suffering while Republicans play politics with this position."

Joanne Freeman: Violent Rhetoric in Congress is Meant to Intimidate Enemies Into Silence

"I suppose that’s what we’re going to see now; the person who does that kind of bullying and that kind of threatening gets a good degree of support for it."