While the Marshall Plan attempted to bolster the economies and domestic harmony of European countries after the Second World War, the Truman Doctrine was the United States foreign policy initiative aimed at keeping these states free from physical attacks by “armed minorities or by outside pressures”. No reading between theContinue Reading
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted the largest disruption to American education in living memory. At the onset of the crisis in spring 2020, nearly every K–12 school, public and private, closed its doors. At the start of the next school year (see “Pandemic Parent Survey Finds Perverse Pattern,” features, Spring 2021),Continue Reading
Parents protest at a meeting of the Loudoun County School Board in Ashburn, Virginia. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” commented former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, while seeking a return to office in 2021. His Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, wove McAuliffe’s remarkContinue Reading
15–20 August AD 636: Thousands die at Yarmouk A Muslim army puts Roman forces to the sword It is 15 August AD 636, and on the southern border of present-day Syria one of the most decisive battles in world history is about to begin. For two years the armies ofContinue Reading
Boris Johnson’s fall as prime minister early in July was spectacular. It was forced, not by any formal vote, but instead by the resignation of dozens of ministers and aides following a series of damaging political scandals. Indeed, the number of resignations was so great that, had Johnson not quicklyContinue Reading
A Post Doctoral Researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, M. Danish Shakeel, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new study, which finds that student achievement has increased since the 1970s. “A Half Century of Student Progress Nationwide: First comprehensive analysis finds broad gains in test scores, with larger gainsContinue Reading
14 August 1040 In Scotland, Duncan I’s rival kills him in battle and succeeds him as king. The new monarch’s name is… Macbeth. 14 August 1462 Mainz printers Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer produced the 2-volume Biblia Latina. It was the first printed Bible to contain the date and placeContinue Reading
Seventy years ago in the late evening of the 15 August 1952, a storm of tropical intensity dropped a huge quantity of rain on an already water-saturated Exmoor. Floodwaters emptied into the tributaries of the West and East Lyn Rivers. Laden with trees, boulders and other debris, their walls ofContinue Reading
What are the most impactful films in Hollywood history? What made the golden age of film so golden? And how important were Hollywood movies in projecting American values to the wider world? In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Mark Glancy answers listener questions on a cultural powerhouse, from silent movies andContinue Reading
As evening fell in Bavaria on 13 August 1704, a weary Duke of Marlborough climbed down from his horse and hastily scrawled a message to his wife on the back of an old tavern bill: “I have not time to say more but to beg you will give my dutyContinue Reading
