Recent critiques of “presentism” fail to see that we can’t divorce the past from the present—and that supposedly objective scholarship has long promoted racist narratives and suppressed Black history.

Germany has never fully reckoned with the Nazi connections of some of its wealthiest families.

At a time of upheaval, we want to believe that better leaders have the power to change the course of history. But counterfactuals are never simple.

Can we preserve ancient monuments without losing sight of what global warming is doing to humans living today?

Kris Manjapra’s new book, “Black Ghost of Empire,” examines the ways white slaveholders were compensated, while formerly enslaved people were not.

A new book explains why Americans know so little about other countries.

It’s never been easier to piece together a family tree. But what if it brings uncomfortable facts to light?

New maps can revive Cherokee place names in Southern Appalachia and restore crucial knowledge amid an environmental catastrophe.

Why has a relatively conventional history of the War of Independence drawn such an outraged response?

David Graeber and David Wengrow’s new history of humanity looks for the origins of authoritarianism and freedom.

In over 150 hours of his podcast “Revolutions” and a new book, Duncan wrestles with centuries of upheaval.

We know why they were built and why they have to come down.

Fearful of increasing participation, elites of the era attempted to rein in democracy.

“The Bomber Mafia” enthuses about precision tactics said to spare civilian lives. Except they didn’t.

A new history of the Cuban missile crisis emphasizes how close the world came to destruction—and how severe a threat the weapons still pose.

One Texas Republican state House member wants to create a “patriotic” education project to celebrate the Lone Star State—and whitewash its ugly past.

The Biden administration is reviving the legal and moral case for slavery reparations.

Their secondhand experience of past horrors can debilitate them.

In celebrating unsung heroes of history, two new movies overly romanticize the past.

After Charlottesville, the historian Joan Wallach Scott wanted to find out how societies face up to their past—and why some fail.