History

Blame the Babies: How Infants Sparked Human Speech

A new book reveals how helpless newborns pushed our ancestors to invent language—and changed the course of evolution.

Aug 27 •

Money Isn’t Real—Here’s Why That Matters

The strange history of money reveals how religion, debt, and greed shaped our modern economy—and why the system is failing us.

Aug 13 •

and

To Cheat Is Human—But There's Something We Can Do About It

From manipulative language to the art of self-deception, a social scientist uncovers the ancient origins of modern exploitation—and how we might…

Jul 23 •

How High Were They?: 5 Drug-Fueled Insights From The Past

Shakespeare's weed, Washington's opium, Freud's coke, and other habits of the high and mighty.

Jul 14 •

Who Designed Design?

Once just a word, now a worldview—how a 20th-century invention came to shape everything from your phone to your future.

Jul 10 •

Are You a Bad Friend? Probably, But That's OK.

A historian shares five surprising lessons from the past that can help us forge stronger, more realistic friendships today.

Jun 3 •

and

Tiffany Watt Smith

Gut Instincts: The Forgotten Science of the Stomach-Mind Connection

Your belly is trying to tell you something. Here's what it is.

Mar 11 •

Good Lessons From Bad Movies

What you can learn from Hollywood's biggest flops.

Feb 28 •

The Ultimate War Machine: How Horses Made Humanity

Why Hitler’s Blitzkrieg ran on oats (and other surprises from the stables of history)

Feb 11 •

A Brand New Yesterday: 5 Surprising Books That Rewrite History

New releases that redefine the past.

Jan 25 •

Panio Gianopoulos

America, Aroused: An Erotic History

Rebecca L. Davis shares 5 key insights from Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America.

Dec 18, 2024 •

and

The Secret Magic of Chocolate: From Sacred Bean to Modern Bliss

Rowan Jacobsen shares five key insights from Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao’s Soul.

Dec 17, 2024 •

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