All Articles — Page 13
Every story we've published, newest first
Time Traveler's Guide to Unified Silla Gyeongju, 900
Time travel to Gyeongju in 900 AD, when the Silla kingdom still ruled Korea from its gilded Buddhist capital - magnificent, stratified, and beginning its long decline.
The West Mesa Bone Collector: Albuquerque's Unsolved Mass Grave
In 2009, a dog walker discovered bones on Albuquerque's West Mesa. The West Mesa Bone Collector case uncovered 11 victims and remains unsolved today.
Arsenal: The Indian Talwar - The Saber That Shaped the Subcontinent
The talwar sword history spans five centuries of Indian cavalry warfare - the curved blade that armed Mughal emperors, Maratha warriors, Rajput kings, and Sikh armies in turn.
Bob Marley: One Love vs. History - How Accurate Is the Reggae Biopic?
Checking Bob Marley One Love accuracy: the 2024 biopic is broadly right on the assassination attempt and Exodus, but family oversight shapes every omission.
The Disappearance of Genette Tate: A Cold Case That Took 27 Years to Close
Genette Tate's 1978 disappearance in Devon stayed unsolved for 27 years until DNA evidence identified serial killer Robert Black as her murderer - and linked him to three other victims.
If Catherine de Medici Lived Today: The Dynastic Fixer Who Always Outlasted Everyone
If Catherine de Medici lived today, she would run the most indispensable advisory firm in whatever capital would have her - the operator who always outlasts everyone.
Origins: How Mail Delivery Was Invented
History of mail delivery: from Persian relay riders and Roman couriers to Rowland Hill's 1840 penny stamp that made the post available to everyone.
A Time Traveler's Guide to Baroque Rome, 1650
Your guide to baroque Rome 1650: a papal city under construction, packed with pilgrims for the Jubilee Year, where Bernini and Borromini compete for eternity.
Arsenal: The Persian Shamshir and the Art of the Curved Blade
The shamshir sword armed Persian emperors and Mughal cavalry. Forged from wootz steel and built for mounted combat, it shaped Islamic warfare for three centuries.
The Disappearance of Bryce LaSpisa: The Last Phone Call That Explains Nothing
The Bryce LaSpisa disappearance: hours of confused phone calls in 2013, a burned car near Lake Hughes, and no body ever found. California's most baffling cold case.
Devotion vs. History: How Accurate Is the Jesse Brown Korean War Film?
A Devotion 2022 accuracy check: Jesse Brown's pioneering aviator story and Tom Hudner's crash-landing rescue are real. The Cannes sequence with Elizabeth Taylor is invented.
If Cardinal Richelieu Lived Today: The Spymaster Who Runs a Country From Behind the Curtain
If Richelieu lived today, he would be the most dangerous person in any government who never faced an election. The 17th-century spymaster rebuilt into 2026.
Origins: Where Paper Money Was Actually Invented
The origins of paper money trace to Song Dynasty China, where a government monopoly in Sichuan transformed private merchant notes into the world's first true currency.
Time Traveler's Guide to Knights of Malta, 1620
Your guide to the Knights of Malta in 1620 - where warrior-monks run a fortified harbor, raid Ottoman shipping, and operate the finest hospital in the Mediterranean.
Arsenal: The Tachi - Japan's First Great War Sword
The tachi sword history: Japan's mounted samurai weapon for five centuries, and the blade-making tradition that shaped every Japanese sword that followed.
Boston Strangler vs. History: How Accurate Is the 2023 Hulu Film?
Boston Strangler 2023 accuracy review: the Hulu film follows journalists who identified the killer first. We fact-check DeSalvo's confession and the 2013 DNA evidence.
The Disappearance of Brianna Maitland
In 2004, seventeen-year-old Brianna Maitland left a Vermont motel and vanished. Her car was found backed into an abandoned farmhouse. No answers in twenty years.
If Cesare Borgia Lived Today: Machiavelli's Prince, Updated
If Cesare Borgia lived today, he'd be the private equity operator that everyone fears and nobody can outmaneuver - Machiavelli's prince in a three-piece suit.
Origins of the Stock Market: How It Was Invented
The origins of the stock market trace to 1602 Amsterdam, where the Dutch East India Company created the first company whose shares anyone could freely buy and sell.
Time Traveler's Guide to the Majapahit Empire, Trowulan 1350
The Majapahit Empire in 1350 was the largest in Southeast Asian history. Here's how to dress, eat, and navigate Trowulan without getting killed.
The Disappearance of Andrew Gosden: The Boy Who Vanished at Kings Cross
On September 14, 2007, a 14-year-old maths prodigy from Doncaster walked into Kings Cross station and was never seen again. No body, no suspect, no explanation.
Arsenal: The Tanegashima Japanese Matchlock
The tanegashima matchlock arrived in Japan with Portuguese traders in 1543 and turned a feudal war into a firearms revolution, before the Tokugawa shogunate suppressed it.
If Nero Lived Today: The Influencer-Emperor Who Burned Everything Down
If Nero lived today, the entertainer-emperor who inherited power at seventeen, murdered his way through family ties, and lost the generals he forgot to manage would fit 2026 perfectly.
Origin vs. History: How Accurate Is Ava DuVernay's Caste Film?
Origin 2023 accuracy verdict: DuVernay's film on Wilkerson's Caste gets the Nazi-Jim Crow parallel historically right, while softening its contested analytical framework.