The Middle Ages have yielded a series of amazing archaeological discoveries, from medieval swords to buried castle remains to evidence of zombie fears. The Middle Ages, which started around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.C. and lasted until the beginning of theContinue Reading
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James led their new teams to multiple championships. Bill Russell, dealt by St. Louis to Boston in 1956, powered the Celtics’ 1960s dynasty. The greatest—and most shocking—trades in basketball history have catapulted teams to championships and long-term success. Here are seven of the biggest deals inContinue Reading
Advocates for taxpayer-funded school-choice programs cite the potential of market competition to spur educational improvement and promote equity for low-income students. When public schools don’t have to compete for students, the reasoning goes, they have less of an incentive to enhance their performance. Students whose communities don’t guarantee access toContinue Reading
Lozen fought against Mexican and American forces for 30 years, earning the nickname ‘Apache Joan of Arc.’ Native American warriors like Sitting Bull (Lakota), Tecumseh (Shawnee) and Geronimo (Apache) have long been celebrated as defenders of Indigenous territories. Their courageous resistance to foreign invaders helped to ensure cultural survival. OneContinue Reading
Chester E. Finn Jr.—or, as I’ve always known him, Checker—has been a force in American education for more than four decades. (Full disclosure: He’s also a longtime friend, collaborator, and mentor.) The longtime president of the Fordham Institute (now in an active/emeritus role), he’s served in the White House andContinue Reading
A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and author of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of Riley’s reservations with adoption of critical race theory into school curriculum. Follow The Education Exchange on Soundcloud, AppleContinue Reading
One morning in April 1833, Londoners awoke to find flyers circulating around the city. Addressed “To The Public”, the flyers protested because a performance of a William Shakespeare play had become a political flashpoint. “Base and unmannerly attempts”, they said, were being made to prevent the actor Ira Aldridge “fromContinue Reading
24 October 1901: Annie Edson Taylor conquers Niagara Falls A 63-year-old woman travels over the falls in a barrel… and lives to tell the tale When planning birthday celebrations, a ride in a barrel over Niagara Falls is probably furthest from most people’s minds. But that was precisely how AnnieContinue Reading
What did the word ‘pharaoh’ mean? How did you become an ancient Egyptian king? And what was that beard all about? Speaking with Emily Briffett, Joyce Tyldesley answers listener questions and top internet search queries about ancient Egypt’s royal rulers. How to download the HistoryExtra podcast Download as MP3Continue Reading
22 October 1797 Andre-Jacques Garnerin jumps from a balloon above Paris to make the world’s first recorded parachute jump. 22 October 1811 Birth of Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor Franz Liszt. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, his circle of friends included Chopin, Berlioz, Wagner, the painterContinue Reading
