History

A creek with atomic waste from WWII is linked to increased cancer risk
A new study in JAMA shows how proximity to Coldwater Creek, where nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project was improperly stored, affected cancer rates over the decades.
35 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act - celebrating the success and concern
It was 35 years ago this month that the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. Across the U.S., it’s being marked with festivals and parades — and concern due to recent Medicaid cuts.
Riot guns and revolution: How a bloody 1934 workers strike in Minneapolis catalyzed the nation
A landmark 1934 Minneapolis strike made the city a union town and influenced national labor law. It was an outcome that seemed all but impossible in the first part of the decade.
How bipartisan support for public media unraveled in the Trump era
“It will test every single shred of creativity we have to continue to try to serve our mission,” says one public media executive, as Congress ends federal funding for public broadcasting.
Lots of people love tennis. But do you know where it comes from?
Recent years have seen an upswing in people playing tennis (or at least dressing like it). But it's not just a phase. The sport — at least some version of it — has been around since medieval times.
100 years after evolution went on trial, the Scopes case still reverberates
One hundred years ago, the small town of Dayton, Tenn., became the unlikely stage for one of the most sensational trials in American history, over the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution.
The shadow fighters of the Civil War
Historian Patrick O’Donnell spotted an intriguing roadside marker and then spent six years researching a part of the Civil War long forgotten. His 2024 book, “The Unvanquished,” tells the story of shape-shifting spies, fearless guerilla fighters and military leaders straight out of a movie.
Daughter of assassinated civil rights leader sees painful echoes of political violence in America
Civil and voting rights activists gathered in Jackson, Mississippi, to honor what would have been the 100th birthday of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Evers was assassinated by a white supremacist in 1963.