Weave together the many narratives of world history with our highly curated and expanding selection of diverse, fascinating resources designed to showcase the breadth and richness of Earth's story, from the earliest traces of human civilization to the dramatic developments of contemporary cultures.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
This award-winning podcast features gripping interviews with the people who lived through the Cold War—spies, soldiers, defectors, and civilians. Covering everything from the Berlin Wall to nuclear standoffs, it offers unfiltered, emotional accounts of Cold War life and conflict.
In a Gallup poll taken days after the attack, an extraordinary 97% of Americans approved Congress declaring war on Japan—reflecting overwhelming national unity in the wake of the strike.
After the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion collapsed, Castro’s new communist government turned to the Soviet Union for protection. Moscow’s decision to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba—just 90 miles from the US—pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Of nearly 12,000 proposed constitutional amendments, only 27 were ratified. This article highlights radical failed proposals that would have renamed the country, abolished the presidency, capped personal wealth, or fundamentally rewritten how American democracy works.
Beyond goods, the canal carried ideas. Its corridor hosted Second Great Awakening revivals and became a center for activism—fueling abolitionist networks, women’s suffrage organizing, and other reform movements.
The Machu Picchu we know today is familiar thanks to its neatly manicured plazas, lovingly preserved stone buildings, and ever-present hordes of tourists. But that’s not what Hiram Bingham saw when Melchor Arteaga led him to the site in 1911. Back then, it lay covered by centuries of tropical overgrowth.
Nuclear weapons work by unleashing energy from atomic fission—or fusion—reactions. In fission bombs, a critical mass triggers a runaway chain reaction in milliseconds. This video explains the basic science behind their immense explosive power.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, deepening US fears of falling behind in the Space Race. Watch archival footage to see why the mission was such a historic turning point.
One of the earliest filmed flights, this demonstration in France helped dispel doubts over the Wrights’ claims to powered, controlled flight. Such demos helped launch the pair to fame five years after their seminal flight in Kitty Hawk.
The Watergate scandal produced some of the most iconic images in American political history—especially the candid shot of Nixon boarding a helicopter while leaving the White House for the final time on August 9, 1974.
