The scene of Chile’s proudest football triumphs is also a monument to some of its darkest days.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ who chaired the ancestor of today’s Department of Energy, had his security clearance revoked during the ‘Red Scare’ of the 1950s.
AP Photo
A historian of science and technology says Trump team’s request for names of Department of Energy employees working on climate change recalls worst excesses of ideology-driven science in government.
Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December?
Adoration of the shepherds (1622) by Gerard van Honthorst/WIkimedia Commons
Before Christmas became child-centred, Father Christmas was the personification of a mid-winter feast of merrymaking for adults – and he brought no presents.
Scorn has a long and humorous history. But a new book on the subject, featuring quotes from Kanye West, Christopher Hitchens and of course, Donald Trump, rather lacks contemporary wit.
Even without iPhones, people in the 19th century liked to see how long they could strike a pose and stay frozen.
Wikimedia Commons
Long before smartphones filmed the stiffened appendages of people seeking internet fame, striking a pose was a popular form of entertainment in Victorian England.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at a conference for her party.
AP Photo/Martin Meissner
In reelection bid, Merkel’s not just up against a xenophobic, nationalist party in Germany. In the wake of Trump’s election, liberal democracies around the world hope she’ll defend them, too.
William Westall’s drawing of the body of an Indigenous man shot at Blue Mud Bay (1803).
National Library of Australia
Increasingly sophisticated technology allows us to make close-to-perfect copies of everything from paintings to burial chambers. Can a replica bring artefacts to new audiences?
A rally in Michigan: Trump’s presidential victory was won in the Rust Belt states, which have been hit hard by globalization.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Globalization in its present form has generated economic inequalities, political uncertainties and cultural anxiety. Is there a way to move forward that benefits more people?
Ostraka from classical Athens nominating the persons of Kallias and Megakles.
Cycladic Art Museum, Athens, Greece/Wikimedia Commons
For the first time in recent memory the possibility of imprisoning political rivals has entered the political discourse of a modern western election. But ostracism is an ancient democratic tradition that offers an alternative approach.
There are more than a million Druze worldwide, with the vast majority residing in the Middle East.
shutterstock
A fashion historian describes the controversial history of the pantsuit – and how Clinton transformed her signature ensemble into a rallying cry for female empowerment.
Pages from the Grolier Codex, rare surviving fragments of the Maya past.
Enrico Ferorelli