History & Society

History & Society

Trace how culture, power, and ideas shape societies across time.

We could even benefit from more whataboutisms — if they're used properly.
The artifacts were often made from found objects – an Ivory dish-soap bottle transformed into an earthenware figure.
cooperation
Americans are more willing to put the greater good above their own interests today than in the 1950s.
On New Year's Eve 1899, the captain of this Pacific steamliner sailed into history. Or did he?
tribalism
From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.
John Templeton Foundation
biomass
Since our arrival, humans have driven a seven-fold drop in the mass of wild land mammals.
How drugs, demons, and the search for immortality gave us words we use everyday.
Successful forgers are remembered as great conmen, not artists. This is strange, considering their forgeries fooled even the most seasoned critics.
Just as human beings diversified so that people in Asia look different from people in Europe, so too did their microbiomes.
I Have Seen the Future
Our inaugural special issue is focused on progress — the search for, the study of, and the project towards a better world.
Or why I’m coming out as an impatient optimist.
Progress got derailed somewhere between indoor plumbing and the flying car. Why?
We asked our experts where they see the biggest blockers right now for more progress. Essentially, from their various areas of focus, what did they see as the largest impediments to driving progress forward around the world and how they would prioritize the necessary interventions? The answers were appropriately varied from the philosophical to the political to the technological.
About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]
About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]
About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]
About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]