Historians in the News

The Rise of "UniverCity"

Universities wield increasing control over their surrounding communities. Historian Davarian Baldwin discusses the impact of that power for good and ill. 

Robert Middlekauff, Historian of Washington and His War, Dies at 91

Robert Middlekauff wrote what was long considered the best single-volume study of the American Revolution, "The Glorious Cause." 

Vietnam's Postwar Refugee Crisis

“The United States doesn’t take enough into account how refugee migration and displacement are a part of all of our foreign policy interventions,” says historian Phuong T. Nguyen. “We need to be prepared to handle the humanitarian crisis that inevitably follows.” 

Can “Lottocracy” Save Democracy From Itself?: Hélène Landemore on Inclusive Governance

"One interpretation of our current predicament is thus that people are not rejecting democracy as an ideal but simply rejecting a system that claims to be a democracy but really isn’t. And if that’s the case, that’s healthy and a sign of democratic vitality, in my view."

How Previous Presidents have Ended American Wars

With the U.S.'s longest war coming to an end, Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks with Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, to look back at how other U.S. presidents have handled ending conflicts.

Podcast: Stephen Wertheim on the End of the Indispensable Nation

Since September 11, has the idea of America as an "indispensable nation" for the cause of liberty, democracy and peace done more harm than good? Historian Stephen Wertheim discusses foreign policy with Elmira Bayrasli. 

The 100th Anniversary of the Biggest Uprising Since the Civil War

by Samuel Fleischman

West Virginia coal country needs to recover the tradition of solidarity that developed during the state's deadly mine wars to move to a fair post-coal future. 

Histories of Violence: When Freedom Turns Ugly

American Studies scholar Elizabeth Anker's work examines "ugly freedom," in which the capacity of one group to dominate another is constructed as the positive social value of liberty. She discusses it with philosopher Brad Evans.

"Selling a Promise": What Did Silicon Valley Learn from Theranos?

Tech historian Margaret O'Mara offers insight on the culture of Silicon Valley and the safeguards against hype and fraud as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes goes on trial. 

Arguments on the Left: US History

The editors of Dissent present a collection of three essays by Barbara Ransby, Nikhil Pal Sing and Michael Kazin about how to frame the significance of racism in the nation's history and the prospects of fighting it. 

The "Leesburg Stockade Girls" Locked Up in Georgia in 1963

15 girls aged 12-15 were locked up in appalling conditions, for 45 days or more, and often without their families' knowledge, in southwest Georgia in 1936. This is their story.

Bouie: The Founders Lived in a Foreign World

Times columnist Jamelle Bouie draws on the work of historians Matt Glassman, Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, and Susan Dunn to argue that the Founders did not, in fact, get it right the first time – even for the society they lived in, let alone for ours.

The Economist Reviews Adam Tooze's Contemporary History of the COVID Economy

"The challenge of instant history is that its judgments can be overtaken by events."

How Racism Permeates the Politics of Guns

Historians Carol Anderson and Yohuru Williams are featured in a new documentary examining the ways that American gun rights discourse has been filtered through racism. 

New History of Chicanos in Ventura County

Historian Frank Barajas discusses his new book on Chicano activism in California's Ventura County with columnist Gustavo Arellano.

Stephen B. Oates, Civil War Historian, Dies at 85

In his best-known works, Dr. Oates explored the lives of four prominent figures — John Brown, Nat Turner, Lincoln and Dr. King — in what he called his “Civil War quartet.”

The Failed Plan to Replace the South's Black Labor Force with Chinese Immigrants

James Loewen's work "The Mississippi Chinese" is a touchstone for writer Jay Caspian Kang, who reflects on the connections between race and exploitation in history. 

75 Years Ago: Did Truman Read John Hersey's "Hiroshima"?

by Greg Mitchell

"My research yielded amazing letters between "New Yorker" editor and the White House following publication of one of the most heralded and important articles of the century."

Podcast: Jelani Cobb on the Missed Lessons of the Kerner Commission

Cobb has edited a new annotated report of the Kerner Commission's findings, and argues that the report's unheeded recommendations are more important today than ever. 

What Did the Continental Congresses Do?

From the runup to the Revolution to the adoption of the Constitution, three Continental Congresses were the de facto national government. Here's what they did.