History Archives

Stalin, Putin and the Falsification of History

Patriotism corrupts history.—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1817) Long before the latest iteration of cancel culture, there was a punishment known as damnatio memoriae (the condemnation of a person’s memory). First…

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12 min

Christopher Hitchens, the Conservative Marxist

How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment by Matt Johnson (2023). A review. There has been a gaping void in our political and…

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1 min

Nev March: History and Mystery

08/03/2023
Nev March and Iona Italia

In this episode of our Two for Tea podcast, editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to novelist Nev March about her latest book, Peril at the Exposition, an intricately plotted and lushly descriptive historical…

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8 min

Transcending Race

A Review of Kenan Malik’s Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics (Hurst Publishers, 2023) Race remains one of society’s great delusions. It is modern civilisation’s most enduring superstition.…

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6 min

The Disappointments of Liberalism: Luke Savage’s “The Dead Center”

A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.—Robert Frost Liberals have long prided themselves on their pragmatism and moderation. While radical movements on…

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12 min

History

Unidentified Fascist Objects: Flying Saucers, Holocaust Deniers and Nazi UFOs

The idea that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party secretly constructed flying saucers during the Second World War, either with extra-terrestrial aid or via their own innate Teutonic technological genius,…

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Vintage human anatomy sketch of a anomalous body

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3 min

Unusual Bodies: A Conversation with Alice Dreger

05/01/2023
Alice Dreger and Iona Italia

In this episode of our Two for Tea podcast, editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to researcher, journalist, historian of science and novelist Alice Dreger—one of the most fascinating polymaths among the current…

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1 min

Who’s Black and Why? An Interview with Andrew Curran

In this episode of our Two for Tea podcast, editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to Andrew Curran about his new anthology, prepared in collaboration with Henry Louis Gates, Who’s Black and Why: A…

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8 min

Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò’s “Against Decolonisation”

The idea of decolonisation has been a fad in western discourse for the past few years. Of course, when one thinks of decolonisation, the national liberation movements that engulfed Africa…

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6 min

Reasons to Be Jubilant

On 2 June, I travelled down to London to attend one of those unusual events that somehow manage to be at once an embodiment of the stereotypical idea of what…

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14 min

The 1619 Project: An Oversimplified Explanation

Casual critics of the 1619 Project usually focus on its basic conceit: the idea that the true founding of the United States occurred when the first African captives arrived in…

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10 min

White People and the Conversation About Race

It is always saddening when reasonable, thoughtful people fail to understand each other’s point of view in important conversations. It is even more unfortunate when they fail to respect each…

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9 min

Misunderstanding the History of US-Philippine Relations

There are complicated but long-standing ties between the Southeast Asian nation of the Philippines and its former colonizer the United States, despite the history of conflict between the two nations.

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13 min

The First Freedom: Free Speech: A History by Jacob Mchangama

In President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address, he spoke of a “world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere…

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9 min

The Enduring Importance of Eric Williams’ “Capitalism and Slavery”

As a new generation grapples with the effects of racism and capitalism, it is no surprise that Penguin Modern Classics has been publishing new editions of classic texts authored by…

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6 min

History

The Empire That Wasn’t: The German Hanse

More than fifty years after its first publication—and now in its sixth (posthumous) edition—The German Hansa, by the French historian Philippe Dollinger, remains a classic. Written in a scholarly yet…

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7 min

History

Was Athenian Democracy Dependent on Imperialism?

“The paradox of ancient Greek democracy is that the freedom and rights of citizens depended on the subjugation and exploitation of others,” declares the University of New Brunswick classicist Matthew…

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10 min

Is Liberalism Genocidal, Racist and Elitist?: A Reply to Domenico Losurdo’s Counter-History

Liberalism can refer to many things: a philosophy, a disposition, an educational style—even a brand. But it is primarily thought of as a political doctrine originating in the seventeenth century,…

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History

Stalin, Putin and the Falsification of History

Christopher Hitchens, the Conservative Marxist

Nev March: History and Mystery

Transcending Race

The Disappointments of Liberalism: Luke Savage’s “The Dead Center”

Unidentified Fascist Objects: Flying Saucers, Holocaust Deniers and Nazi UFOs

Unusual Bodies: A Conversation with Alice Dreger

Who’s Black and Why? An Interview with Andrew Curran

Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò’s “Against Decolonisation”

Reasons to Be Jubilant

The 1619 Project: An Oversimplified Explanation

White People and the Conversation About Race

Misunderstanding the History of US-Philippine Relations

The First Freedom: Free Speech: A History by Jacob Mchangama

The Enduring Importance of Eric Williams’ “Capitalism and Slavery”

The Empire That Wasn’t: The German Hanse

Was Athenian Democracy Dependent on Imperialism?

Is Liberalism Genocidal, Racist and Elitist?: A Reply to Domenico Losurdo’s Counter-History

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