Are Black freedom lessons being locked out of America's schools?

Mr. Modi comes to Washington – The Indian prime minister’s visit could strengthen ties with the US, but also raises some delicate issues

Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University; Larry Diamond, Stanford University

The Biden administration is courting Indian leader Narendra Modi in part to deter China’s rise. But India’s decline in democracy could complicate relations.

Juneteenth, Jim Crow and how the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom

Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Sam Houston State University; Zachary Montz, Sam Houston State University

For the formerly enslaved Black people in Texas, Juneteenth meant more than freedom. It meant reuniting families and building schools and developing political power.

Fascism lurks behind the dangerous conflation of the terms ‘partisan’ and ‘political’

Lawrence Torcello, Rochester Institute of Technology

When everything is seen as political – indictments, Supreme Court decisions, scientific findings – a democracy may be on its way to fascism.

Watered-down LGBTQ ‘understanding’ bill shows how far Japan’s parliament is out of step with its society – and history

Sabine Frühstück, University of California, Santa Barbara

Japan has a rich queer history and is seeing societal changes in favor of greater LGBTQ recognition. That said, national politicians have yet to catch up.

There are 20 emancipation days in the U.S. – and the history of how emancipated people were kept unfree needs to be remembered, too

Kris Manjapra, Tufts University

Known as Juneteenth in Texas, Emancipation Days symbolized America’s attempt to free the enslaved across the nation. But those days were unable to prevent new forms of economic slavery.

Big money bought the PGA Tour, but can it make golf a popular sport in Saudi Arabia?

Josh Woods, West Virginia University

History is filled with stories of business magnates taking big financial risks on the next big sports sensation. But emerging sports are more like social movements than business enterprises.

Cormac McCarthy’s fearless approach to writing

Bill Hardwig, University of Tennessee

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author was always willing to experiment with his prose, pacing and narration, crafting an oeuvre that varied wildly in style and structure.

How Black Americans combated racism from beyond the grave

David B. Parker, Kennesaw State University

Tombstones that used the honorifics ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ restored a sense of dignity to people who had been denied it in life.

Southern Baptists expel churches with women pastors – but the debate’s not just about gender

Andrew Gardner, Baylor University

In Southern Baptist history, rules on women and sexuality are often entwined. A scholar writes about the first congregation to be expelled from the SBC over LGBTQ+ issues

‘Courage is contagious’: Daniel Ellsberg’s decision to release the Pentagon Papers didn’t happen in a vacuum

Christian Appy, UMass Amherst

The Vietnam War whistleblower, who died on June 16, 2023, wrestled with his decision to leak thousands of pages of government documents.

How do spices get their flavor?

Beronda L. Montgomery, Grinnell College

Humans have figured out how to season their food with virtually every part of plants.

Inside the black box of Amazon returns

Annual numbers of excess deaths in the US relative to other developed countries are growing at an alarming rate

Russians are using age-old military tactic of flooding to combat Ukraine’s counteroffensive