Jon Willis— Galileo entered Jupiter orbit on December 8, 1989, just one day after the drama and revelations of the descent probe. Although Galileo was a Jupiter orbiter, the proximity of Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto offered the opportunity for multiple flybys of the Galilean satellites. During its eight-year mission to Jupiter, Galileo completed thirty-five
The long-held belief that the Declaration of Independence calls for a small government may not be an accurate assessment. Historian Steve Pincus discusses the meaning of this seminal document as well as its continuing influence in modern politics and American life. (This episode originally ran 10/20/2016)
Presenting our Yale University Press Pride Month reading list—because celebrating #Pride2017, learning from the history of the movement, championing stories and contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals, and working each day to insist on equal and fair treatment of queer communities should extend far beyond June. Homintern: How Gay Culture Liberated the Modern World by Gregory
Richard D. Brown— After Time asked “Is Truth Dead?” the digital giants Google and Facebook stepped up efforts to help readers distinguish genuine news information from unsubstantiated assertions and fabrications. This is encouraging. But the challenges of fake news, like misleading and erroneous journalism, are nothing new. Over 200 years ago, when
Joanne B. Freeman— On Saturday, July 18, 1795, an angry crowd stood gathered before Federal Hall in New York City, eager to protest the Jay Treaty, which eased ongoing tensions between Great Britain and the United States. Convinced that the treaty was too favorable to the British, leading Republicans had
Irwin F. Gellman— The state of current scholarship on Richard Nixon requires me to state, at the outset, that I am neither for nor against him. My purpose in writing The Contender was never to boost Nixon’s historical reputation—nor to depress it—but rather to provide the basis on which any
Why was the FCC created and what was its original purpose? Thomas Hazlett, former chief economist of the FCC, discusses the politics of the FCC and issues like censorship and net neutrality.
Justin du Rivage— Alexander Hamilton was barely out of his teens when he mounted his swashbuckling defense of the Continental Congress in 1774. If colonists failed to stand up to Parliament, he told his fellow New Yorkers, before long their “tables, and chairs, and planters, and dishes, and knives and
Christopher Grasso— They called him “The Hero of the Southwest.” John R. Kelso, an officer in the Missouri State Militia cavalry, gained regional fame during the Civil War for battling Southern guerrillas, and stories about his bravery and daring spread. Friend and foe alike marveled at what one reporter called
Alvin Felzenberg shares stories about William F. Buckley, from his early family life to the formation of the modern conservative movement.