Should Puerto Rico Become the 51st State?
Puerto Rico’s future might be statehood, independence or more of the status quo, but change is unlikely to be won through voting alone.
History Today
Russia’s Baltic Question
Imperial maps of the Baltic provinces continue to shape how Russia views Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania today.
Going, going…Goethe?
The question of reconstruction was a thorny issue in postwar Germany, where celebrations of the ‘glorious’ past took on a different hue.
On the Spot: Malgorzata Fidelis
‘Looking at my native country from outside opened completely new ways of thinking.’
‘Muhammad, the World-Changer’ by Mohamad Jebara review
Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait by Mohamad Jebara is a balanced rendering of the Prophet Muhammad’s life.
Bad Dreams
Divining disaster at Aberfan and beyond, in subjects from nocebos to lost cosmonauts.
The 1600s Were a Watershed for Swear Words
Swear words are a constant, but their ability to cause offence is in flux. In the 1600s, today's obscenities were mundane.
The USSR in Afghanistan
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and its effect on the international politics of the late Cold War era.
Kali
The mother goddess brings death and destruction – to those who deserve it.
We are Family
From alliances, to open warfare; from tense meetings on bridges, to collective mourning at family funerals: French and English royalty were united by marriage and divided by war.