Tagged: History

For those who live under oppressive regimes, weapons are the subduing tool of tyrants.  But for many others, they’re thought of as the great equalizer.  Consider the principle behind the much debated 2nd amendment:  “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” In the latest issue of New-Scientist, Laura Spinney investigates an opposing theo

New England's gruesome brush with supernatural hysteria did not end with the Salem witch trials in the 17th century.  Almost two centuries later came the great New England vampire panic.  Wait… what?  Abigail Tucker is a staff writer for Smithosonian magazine – she wrote about historians who are documenting cases when rural residents set aside their Yankee piety and feverishly exhumed graves and mutilated the corpses of suspected blood-suckers.  The panic is la

In a new book, author Charles Mann explores what happened in the years after Columbus’s famed voyage to the Americas. He says it altered everything: sparking a new era of globalization and not just in commerce: but radical changes in crops, cultures, and politics. We’ll talk with Mann about this expansive look at this new era and how the world changed after Columbus.

Guests

• Charles C. Mann - Author of 1493:Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

American audiences will have to wait until January before the popular drama, Downton Abbey returns to PBS.