The end of Summer: America goes back to school
Friday Flashpoint: August 21 AD 2026
Outside the Academy w/ Dr. Albert Thompson
A newsletter about why the past keeps showing up uninvited.
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Latest posts
Beyond the Zimmermann Telegram, part one
How World War One created the window of opportunity for Mexico to settle a century of political polarization...on the battlefield.
Rhetoric & Reality
From Locke to Plato, is rhetoric just sophistry taking advantage of us?
Imagining American Power: Air Force One
The 1990s, and remembering how post-Cold War Americans still imagined their leaders as potentially heroic.
When did the Great War end and the Second World War begin? Defining the Interwar Period
It is more of an open question when you move beyond Europe.
History is your Data for Maturity
We can't learn from experiences unless we take the time to remember them.
Palaces, Pandemics, and the Creation of Washington D.C.
How a Devastating Pandemic Ruined Philadelphia’s Plot to Remain the US Capital
America permanently took over Danish Territory for National Security
How fear of World War One Germany provoked the US to takeover Danish territory
Hank Green's Pushback and our AI Induced Anxiety
Hank Green’s confession that AI hurt his creative process warns how our anxiety to be productive is being exploited by tempting shortcuts that drown creators.
Covid's History versus Our Memory, the Fauci Tragedy
How American political memory turned COVID-19's systemic failures into a tragedy centered on Anthony Fauci
When Germany Bombed & Closed the Statue of Liberty, and refused to pay the settlement
The World War One German plot that's why you can't visit Lady Liberty's Torch
The beautiful dream of objectivity
Being objective is not a purity test. It is a pledge to be forthright.
The Smithsonian Exception
The Smithsonian is not the Kennedy Center, and it should be kept independent of the president.
The Lindbergh Mission
How the desperate Nazi need to brag enabled an in-your-face U.S. military intelligence operation that exposed the Reich’s interwar air build-up.
Your Environment is a Product of You
The Canadian forest fires are proof we need to take human geography seriously as a matter of public policy and recover a culture of stewardship.
Rearm and Resent? The Contradiction in the USA's Europe Policy
US pressure on Europe to rearm ignores a 19th-century lesson: a reinvigorated great power, once unleashed, doesn't stay obedient to outsiders.
After we win, do we punish them? The Great War Victor's Dilemma
Aquinas, medieval popes, and Nuremberg all wrestled with the same question: when no court at home will try them, can rulers ever answer for their crimes?
The Unfunded Liability of Elite Luxury
Forgetting Cato, Encountering the Poissardes, thoughts on the Roman Republic and the French Revolution.
The Hinge, America's Choices Become Stark
America face a choice different pathways with the Democrats. POTUS intervention in the World Cup threatens to become an international incident.
Remember the Fifth of November
Days before WWI ended, Woodrow Wilson begged voters to keep his party's control of Congress, or the country would look weak.
America 250: The Next Six Years, still time to celebrate
The semiquincentennial isn't over. Three reasons Americans should keep the party going to at least 2031. And invite the French to the cookout.
1776’s Unedited Dream
America is a beautiful country with a promise to keep. And Americans can do it.