It was over in under two minutes. But the fragments of the Challenger space shuttle would take nearly an hour to splash down into the ocean. By midnight, about 95 percent of American adults had seen the video footage of the explosion. The question on everyone’s mind: What happened? Uneasy Answers It would take years, […]
More than just Wordle
Love it or hate it, The New York Times has been a cornerstone of American journalism for well over a century. Adam Nagourney, a veteran of the newspaper since 1996, has been there for some of the most volatile decades of the paper’s history. Our latest Instaread investigates. The Princess Di Effect The paper’s digital transition began […]
Time to philosophize
The final work of historian and philosopher Will Durant, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was published more than 30 years after his death. Fallen Leaves contains some of his best thinking, including his writing on religion, war, politics, and art. Our latest release distills some of his most important ideas. The Past Never Dies History is more than […]
The other side of murder
Don’t be fooled by the podcast boom; true crime has been a popular money-making genre for hundreds of years. It started in the 1600s in London, and perhaps peaked in 1888, when five women were killed by Jack the Ripper. Their deaths were so sensationalized that myths persist about them to this day. Alternative Histories […]
How serious is the nuclear threat?
What would happen if a nuclear missile were launched toward the United States? The short answer is: nothing good. The longer answer is explored by Pulitzer finalist Annie Jacobsen in Nuclear War, where she describes a scenario based on her extensive interviews with experts and government officials. Living on the Edge The nuclear winter that Jacobsen […]
Where do conspiracy theories come from?
Between the US government threatening to ban TikTok in the near future and whatever’s going on with Kate Middleton, misinformation and social media influence are trending topics again. After social scientist Dan Ariely found himself on the receiving end of weird conspiracy theories online, he took a long look at what causes people to become […]
Was January 6 a sequel?
Rachel Maddow has spent a lot of time discussing the events of January 6, 2021, on MSNBC. But that was not the first time that the United States has faced the threat of a coup. In her latest bestseller, Maddow rewinds to the 1930s and ’40s, when American fascists attempted to replace the US government […]
Pump Club 📖
When Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in 1968, he was aghast. The general public knew nothing about bodybuilding. Arnie knew he had a duty. A duty to pump you up. Sell the Vision Schwarzenegger argued that bodybuilders needed to teach journalists about the sport, and took it upon himself to educate the public. Authenticity and owning […]
Inside a failed assassination attempt
It was nearly 3 a.m. when the bomb detonated. The Irish Republican Army’s assassination attempt on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 was unsuccessful, but five other people were killed. Our latest release chronicles the events leading up to the near miss. A Near-Perfect Plan Only one sitting British prime minister had been successfully […]
Inside the Golf Wars
Golf used to be a very different sport. Before World War I, professional golfing was a part-time job for most people, who worked at country clubs to make ends meet. Now top golfers earn big money — so much so that the professional golf world is now at war. Politics on the Green The Saudi […]
