history

To Vladimir Putin, a young KGB colonel at the time, the decision was a colossal mistake.

Chess was once blamed for triggering mental health problems, including suicide and even murder. Today, the same is said of video games.

Michio Kaku believes math is the mind of God.

From Brahms to Tchaikovsky, here’s a curated list of composers whose music has shaped the classical canon.

It’s possible to measure philosophy’s progress in two ways. But is that really the point?

While there is more to North Korean cinema than meets the eye, the country’s film industry ultimately amounts to little more than a mouthpiece for the ruling Kim dynasty. 

A majority of Americans think they are trustworthy, yet believe most other people can’t be trusted.

By toppling medieval Europe’s mightiest political power, the Protestant Reformation ushered in a new age of freedom, religious and otherwise.

“How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past?” Steinbeck writes.

More than 200 years ago, scientists tried to figure out how bats navigate in the dark (or without eyes). This set in motion a series of events that led to the development of ultrasound as a form of psychotherapy.

“I watched closely for the sun or stars to appear, to correct my chronometer, on the accuracy of which our lives and the success of the journey would depend.”

From crocodiles to birds, certain animals managed to survive some of the worst extinction events in world history.

Far from being inappropriate, many of the most controversial acceptance speeches highlighted important issues in the film industry. 

Understanding the factors behind recent growth could help us better approach inequality.

We’re wrong about what other people think – and that has harmful impacts on the next generation.

The design was as intricate as that of modern-day, factory-fabricated denim jeans, and just as durable. The ancients had fashion.

We have a morbid curiosity about nautical disaster stories. The Irish “Wreck Viewer” offers a window into centuries of marine misfortune.

Germany finds itself once again allowing a murderous dictator to run rampant in Europe, though this time it is due to incompetence and technophobia rather than malice.

At the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Michigan, retrieving sunken vessels is the order of the day. Here’s how they do it. 

We pretend as if economic sanctions are a peaceful way to coerce others into behaving. In reality, they are a potent tool of modern warfare.

A basement renovation project led to the archaeological discovery of a lifetime: the Derinkuyu Underground City, which housed 20,000 people.

Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.

A famous explorer’s doomed ship is finally found 107 years after it was lost to the Antarctic deep.

In the shadow of the Shard, the mosaics help paint a picture of Roman London.

Researchers speculate the famous monument was one of the world’s first solar calendars, possibly inspired by trade with ancient Egyptians. 

A computer that could decidedly pass Alan Turing’s test would represent a major step toward artificial general intelligence.

As always, aDNA research raises as many questions as answers.

The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora is one of the reasons why Bryan Walsh sees supervolcanoes as the” single, biggest threat to the human race.”

Vladimir Putin adores Fyodor Dostoevsky. A close reading of the legendary author’s texts reveals the feeling might have been mutual. 

The paradox of tribalism is that humans need a sense of belonging to be healthy and happy, but too much tribalism is deadly. We are one tribe.