History & Society

History & Society

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

A close up of a woman's eyes in a painting depicting societal distress.
Our state of extreme social interconnectedness has rapidly accelerated the rollercoaster pace at which societal confidence may collapse.
An old Mongol drawing of a man with a bow and arrow.
Mounted on horses and armed with unique, powerful bows, the archers of Genghis Khan inspired terror wherever they rode.
ideal night sy conditions
All stars, eventually, run out of fuel and die. Given all the stars we can see and the vast distance to them, are any of them already dead?
A stoic man with a beard in a black and white photo.
Stoicism is popular today but often misunderstood and misapplied. In fact, a naive interpretation of Stoicism is damaging to your well-being.
a picture of a man with a hat and a tarot card.
The debate goes back at least 400 years.
John Templeton Foundation
Lunar footprints.
Over 50 years since humans last walked on the Moon, astronaut footprints and rover tracks are still visible. But they won't last forever.
A monochromatic image capturing a silver ring.
With U.S. infrastructure crumbling, an honor oath and iron ring remind engineers of their profession's ethical weight.
A drawing using the loci method depicting a tunnel with variably colored pillars.
Modern memory athletes use this ancient technique to memorize thousands of digits of pi.
cosmic inflation
Today, our observable Universe extends for 46 billion light-years in all directions. But early on in our history, things were much smaller.
an image of a face with a blurred background.
Two-time debate world champion Bo Seo gives 3 tips for constructing the perfect argument.
young exoplanetary system PDS 70
The giant impact theory suggests our Moon was formed from proto-Earth getting a Mars-sized strike. An exoplanet system shows it's plausible.
The world set free by Rachel Wells, inspired by Oppenheimer.
Science fiction met nuclear fission when Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd pondered the explosive potential of nuclear energy.
JADES galaxies
For many years, cosmologists have claimed the Universe is 13.8 billion years old. A new paper says no, it's 26.7 billion. How do we decide?
Hybrid animals emerge when two different species from the same family reproduce. For many years, the kunga’s lineage was just another genetic mystery. 
a painting depicting an angel and a woman showing fear while holding a scythe.
“It is healthy and normal to be afraid of death."