Social history
Social history
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What history tells us about the dangers of media ownership
The media bias problem as a clash of power and psychology – the historic argument between Upton Sinclair and Walter Lippmann
by Maia Silber
History of ideas
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How 12th-century Genoese merchants invented the idea of risk
From the docks of 12th-century Genoa to the gambling tables of today, risk is a story that we tell ourselves about the future
by Karla Mallette
Creativity
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How a solitary prisoner decoded Chinese for the QWERTY keyboard
China’s personal computing revolution was born not in a suburban garage but a prison cell, and fine-tuned on a teacup
by Thomas S Mullaney
Sex and sexuality
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A long history of aphrodisiacs, from health tonic to sexual aid
Long before Viagra, people around the world and throughout history used aphrodisiacs to boost health and improve fertility
by Alison M Downham Moore
Social history
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The rise of the bystander as a complicit historical actor
‘The appalling silence of the good people’: how the bystander rose to prominence as a morally complicit actor in history
by Dennis Klein
Sex and sexuality
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What rude jibes about Caesar tell us about sex in ancient Rome
‘Every woman’s man and every man’s woman’ was a slur Julius Caesar’s political opponents levied. What did it mean?
by Aven McMaster