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The Amazon Rainforest under Threat

… became the top trending hashtag on Twitter after the combination of smoke from Amazon forest fires, a weather … fires in South America from August 15-22, 2019. The fires are shown in orange; towns and cities appear white; forested … villages overseen by Catholic religious orders, where they received religious instruction and worked on …
Cover of A Short History of Celebrity by Fred Inglis.

A Short History of Celebrity

Review of A Short History of Celebrity, by Fred Inglis (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2010)
… keep his clothes on.  The voters like that!" 1   And maybe they do.  But voters are viewers, and—if cable news content is any … of intense familiarity with distance.  This is the "compound" that makes the celebrity sacred in modern society: … Media/Journalism/Communications …

The Roots of Venezuela's Failing State

… upper class jetted off on shopping sprees to Miami, where they were known as “ dame dos ” (“give me two”). … oil, butter, and corn flour (for the country’s ubiquitous arepas ) have given rise to professional line standers who … in 2016. Diphtheria, once thought eradicated, has made a comeback . By some estimates, 2.5 million people have left …
Man at march holding sign that reads "Make America NATIVE Again"

Indigenous Peoples' Day: A Conversation

… Dr. Dr. Daniel Rivers: Thank you so much and welcome to our webinar for Indigenous Peoples' Day. It's … So thank you all for coming out today. Daniel and I are very excited to have a conversation about Indigenous … just want to say thank you so much Melissa for your words. They were really apt, articulate and for those of you who …
Turkish soldiers standing over skeletal remains during Armenian Genocide

Armenians, Turks, and the Genocide Question

… April 24, 2015 marks the commemoration of the 100 th anniversary of the Armenian … The result was the physical annihilation of the Armenian communities that had lived in the Anatolian peninsula for … Talk  hosts  Leticia Wiggins  and  Patrick Potyondy  as they interview  Ronald Grigor Suny ,  Ayse …
Castilian ambassadors attempt to ally themselves with Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada.

The Iberian Realm of Islam

Review of Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain, by Brian A. Catlos (New York: Basic Books, 2018)
… by Christian kings) through which we view Spanish history are too facile. The reality of the Islamic kingdoms in Iberia was far more complex. Castilian ambassadors attempt to ally themselves … disarray led to the emergence of independent rulers. They carved out what were known as taifas , or small …
President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Coming: Something New in Presidents

… important new biographical details to the traditional commander-in-chief profile. After having 43 presidents cut … The similarities of our previous White House occupants are astonishing. In a nation of 300 million inhabitants with … have been white males between the ages of 42 and 78. They have invariably embodied conventional social choices …
European Union flag

The EU: Past, Present, and Future

… a century ago. Today, the EU faces an unprecedented combination of challenges, including a lingering economic … Patrick Potyondy   Welcome to History Talk the podcast that brings together a … Mark Sokolsky   Is there a sense that both world wars, they were really, maybe a key pivot for the final creation …

Savage Gladiators vs. Civilized Amateurs: Rome and Athens in American Sports Culture

… professional football, stating in his decision that “There are no Athenian virtues in this form of athletics. The NFL … In fact, as surprising as it may be to sports watchers and commentators, how Americans talk about sports today is a … the courts are as much between ideas of Athens and Rome as they are between the plaintiffs and defendants. A Victorian …
Sign that reads, "You are either affected or infected with HIV/AIDS."

HIV/AIDS: Past, Present and Future

… For more Origins coverage of HIV/AIDS and other related topics, check out Thomas F. McDow's feature Origins article … Eric Michael Rhodes   Welcome to History Talk , the podcast that brings together … with the Simian virus to figure out where that happens. They've really narrowed it down to the southeastern corner …
Illustration of Adam and Eve.

Changing the Constitution to Protect Adam and Eve?

… wrongfulness of murder or the immorality of prostitution aren’t and shouldn’t be embedded in constitutional … bingo games in the town of Jasper to providing for the compensation of the Judge of Probate in Barbour County. As a … Supreme Court that in Lawrence found that state sodomy laws are unconstitutional by a six to three vote. Four of the …

Russia, America, and the Conspiratorial Worldview

… Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In Russia, they even form part of the Kremlin’s public diplomacy. … Efimov The most prolific propagandist in this visual warfare was Boris Efimov, who was named principal political … War I and after the 1917 Revolution and to signal their commitment to the new Bolshevik cause.   Mikhail, the elder …
Image of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft taken on July 13, 2015.

Discovering Pluto

… in the existence of a planet beyond Neptune. He first shared this hypothesis in December 1902, during lectures at … and mathematical calculations.  Initially, he focused on comet and meteor predictions, but he later turned to … particular type of fern or, in this case, a planetary body, they sometimes realize it fits better into another …

Frenemies: Iran and America since 1900

… relations between the United States and Iran have been complicated and edgy as long as anyone can remember. … March 1904, Kurdish bandits robbed and murdered Benjamin Labaree, a 38-year-old American missionary, not far from Mount … as a clash between civilization and barbarism, much as they did when Benjamin Labaree was gunned down in a mountain …

The UN, the WHO, and the Future of U.S. Diplomacy

… policies as altruistic during the ideological competition of the Cold War. But these institutions and … officials, who complained about the UN and WHO even as they generously funded both. Such frustrations encouraged … United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China are in the top row, while the other allies are listed in …
Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, by Judith Herrin Book Cover

Byzantium for Dummies

Review of Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, by Judith Herrin (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2008)
… to Byzantium , Herrin relates a story of two builders coming to her office after passing it daily to ask her what … a more narrow focus. The best bits in the opening quarter are where she reminisces about her own burgeoning interest … background narrative, she seems more at home jumping from topic to topic, discussing eunuchs and empresses, monks and …
Graffiti on wall: "Broken Promises"

Jefferson Cowie on Deindustrialization, Trade, and the 2016 Presidential Election

… looks a lot like the 1970s, not only in the electoral arena but in pop culture, too. ( Image Source ) … inequality goes down, then it goes up wages go up, and then they go down. So it's really this this exceptional period … to stop bad trade deals and global special interests, we welcome you with open arms, perhaps sensing an opportunity with …

Should Age Matter? How 65 Came to Be Old and Old Came to Be Ill

… Baby boomers, 78 million strong, are turning 65 at a rate of 4 million per year in the United States. The press, the government, and the medical community claim, often and loudly, that these numbers augur … health, and reinventing this final stage of life. In short, they are proving that chronological age is not biologically …
The floor seal of the Central Intelligence Agency

Getting Others to Fight Our Wars

… war with Serbia over Kosovo in NATO’s name. These days we rarely fight in the name of the United States. Sometimes, in fact, we try to hide our hand completely. For example, the administration frankly says it … prominently in our endless campaign against Saddam, but they didn’t begin with him. In 1954 the CIA stitched …
the U.S. Constitution, COM Library, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Why Getting Rid of the Filibuster Is Still a Good Idea

… Democrats are making a major mistake by opposing filibuster reform. By … are searching for a reason to support filibuster reform, they can look at their own history. In the 1960s and … anti-democratic, inefficient, and a symbol of legislative incompetence. Liberals in the earlier post-World War II period …
The BBC World Service podcast Witness brings listeners daily podcast shorts on key events in history, described first-hand by the individuals who lived through them.

Best in History Online: BBC's Witness Podcast

… fantastic history sites from around the web. These are websites that – much like Origins – seek to bring … them. Each episode covers a single moment, person, or topic in history, using interviews and audio from the BBC … program focuses on the 20th century, many earlier events are covered, too — for example the 1536 execution of Anne …