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SpaceXFounded by Elon Musk in 2002, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a California-based company that pioneered the development of reusable rockets. He initially attempted to purchase ballistic missiles in Europe and Russia, hoping to launch a rocket carrying a plant or animal to Mars to spark global interest in colonizing the planet, but found them too expensive. By implementing a vertically integrated supply chain—where materials are manufactured in-house—and urging his team to test and simplify every manufacturing rule and process, a SpaceX orbital rocket is today 97% cheaper than those used in the 1960s by Russia. The reusability of the company's two-stage Falcon 9 rocket has revolutionized spaceflight economics, and its Starship—a spacecraft designed for travel to Mars—will be launched atop its partially reusable Falcon Heavy, which is engineered for super-heavy payloads. Using its low-cost launch system, SpaceX has deployed over 5,000 communications satellites into low-Earth orbit to form Starlink, the world's first global broadband internet service.Explore SpaceX

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Hear Abigail Adams' 1786 letters—reporting from London on politics and societyThis podcast brings to life a letter Abigail wrote to her son John Quincy in February 1786, reporting from London on dinners with wealthy South Carolinians and the relationships of her daughter Nabby—with commentary from a Massachusetts Historical Society scholar. After FDR was paralyzed by polio in 1921, Eleanor Roosevelt became active in politics and supported his political ambitionsFDR contracted polio at age 39 and permanently lost the use of his legs. Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded him to stay in politics, then took on the task of maintaining his public profile—attending events, building relationships, and serving as his "eyes, ears, and legs" across the country. FDR Presidential Library and Museum Hear how gerrymandering is like 'Moneyball applied to politics'In a 2016 interview, journalist David Daley explained how Republicans used data-driven targeting after the 2010 census to lock in durable advantages, comparing modern gerrymandering strategies to the analytics revolution in baseball. NPR Independent redistricting commissions aim to take politics out of the map-drawing processIn several states, citizen or bipartisan panels draw congressional and legislative districts based on neutral criteria like population and geography. Learn more about how these commissions increase competitiveness in elections. Campaign Legal Center The term 'gerrymander' dates back to 1812 Massachusetts politicsThe term "gerrymandering" arose when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry approved a state senate map with a district so contorted it resembled a salamander. Critics dubbed it the "Gerry-mander," cementing the term for partisan map manipulation. Library of Congress 2025 showed that memes continue to blend politics and pop culture This list from InsideHook ranks the top 25 memes of 2025. A recurring trend is the thin line between politics and popular culture, with users often using memes to comment on the state of the country. Of course, there was also a fair amount of highly specific and highly bizarre content, something the internet has been known to highlight. InsideHook Rewrite 1930s Germany with this alternative history game of politicsYou are at the head of the Social Democratic Party in Germany in 1928 and must use parliamentary politics, the media, and more to oppose the ascendant National Socialists. This text-based, narrative simulation becomes a lesson in the complexities of political history. Autumn Chen Silicon Valley’s reign over tech, money, and politicsTesla and X CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and others are getting into politics. From Musk’s role in President Trump’s second term to Hoffman’s spending on former Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, more tech CEOs are expanding into politics. This podcast episode by WBUR and American Public Media discusses what the impact could be with so many tech figures engaging in American politics. Listen here. WBUR Behind the scenes on tariff politics Economist Gene Grossman joined the Trade Talks Podcast to discuss why tariffs really happen. The episode digs into how voters, politicians, lobbyists, and even campaign cash can affect when protectionist trade policies are put forward. Produced in 2019, the podcast also discusses how populist trade policies and identity politics accounted for Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential election. Trade Talks Taylor Swift became more outspoken about her politics in the late 2010sVocally supporting LGBTQ+ rights, speaking out against racial inequality, and endorsing presidential candidates are more recent features of Taylor Swift's career. She first broke her political silence around the 2018 midterm elections. Newsweek See which Russian Revolution faction your politics most closely matchThis quiz asks about property rights, women’s suffrage, and church–state separation to reveal whether your views align most with the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Anarchists, or the ultra-nationalist Black Hundreds. Arzamas Academy Memes can influence politics and cultureAlthough internet memes are typically considered trivial and humorous, they're also powerfully persuasive political tools used to convey mainstream ideas. Uncanny Valley How armed groups became embedded in Haitian politicsThis six-minute video explores the relationship between Haitian politics and armed gangs. As recently as June 2023, Haiti did not have a single elected official left in office; The 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and the... YouTube Drug trafficking, violence, and politics in Northern MaliDrug trafficking in northern Mali is fueling unparalleled regional violence and instability. In Mali, smuggling narcotics is not only a way armed groups gain funds, but also a source of conflict in itself. According to the International Crisis Group... International Crisis Group An interactive chart of Palestinian politics“Mapping Palestinian Politics” provides an overview of important aspects surrounding Palestinian politics. Updated regularly, the data presented is based on research, resources, and discussions with academics and experts. Individual ‘maps’ explain elections, key geographic regions, institutions, political parties, security forces, armed groups, and civil society. Each section charts key Palestinian political actors in order to understand the organization and leadership choices Palestinians have made. Use this interactive site to deconstruct the main Palestinian political institutions and players. ECFR How women ascended the ranks in the highstakes world of Maya politicsTwo bloodlines attained near total supremacy of the Maya civilization in contemporary central America: the lords of Tikal and the Kaanul Dynasty. The Kaanul, or snake, dynasty often used marriage to expand their empire, wedding their sorcerer queens to low-ranking rulers of desired lands. Read this Archaeology Magazine article to learn more about these Maya snake queens. Archaeology Magazine Impact of Brazil's politics on the Amazon rainforestIn this seven-minute podcast, Andrew Limbong speaks with environmental researcher Erika Berenguer about Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ambitions to save the Amazon Rainforest from deforestation. NPR Many politicians join private equity firms after leaving WashingtonBoth Democrats and Republicans have a history of leaving politics to work in private equity, raising concerns about the government's protection of private equity firms. Forbes Thomas Hofeller was the GOP strategist known as the 'master of gerrymandering'Republican consultant Thomas Hofeller quietly shaped US politics for decades by engineering partisan maps nationwide. His files, released after his death, revealed strategies to maximize GOP advantage and diminish Democratic influence. Vox Hear an oral history of the Electoral College and why it still existsThis podcast episode traces how the Electoral College emerged from rushed compromises, slavery-era power politics, and party maneuvering—showing why the system looks the way it does today and why efforts to change it have repeatedly stalled. NPR Throughline Go inside the Washington MonumentThis video tour of the Washington Monument explores its interior, construction delays, political battles, memorial stones, earthquake damage, and later modernization—showing how symbolism, engineering, and 19th-century politics shaped the nation's tallest monument. IT'S HISTORY Colin Kaepernick’s ad with Nike won an EmmyColin Kaepernick’s 2018 “Dream Crazy” ad with Nike became a controversial touchpoint for American politics. While many liberals applauded Nike for siding with Kaepernick’s BLM protests, many conservatives boycotted and criticized the company. The Guardian Hughes lived in the Soviet Union in the 1930sHughes grew interested in the Soviet Union and radical politics in the early 1930s after the Communist Party of the United States defended the Scottsboro Boys, nine Black teenagers wrongly accused and convicted of raping two white women. In 1932, he lived there while working on a film that ultimately fizzled out, and returned home. In 1937, he planned to lead a tour of the country, as advertised below, but canceled it when a newspaper offered him a position reporting from the Spanish Civil War. University of Delaware Over the years, the USDA has changed its definitions of healthy eatingThe US Department of Agriculture began offering eating advice in 1894 and has updated its guidance as both science and politics have evolved. In the early 20th century, its guidance emphasized recommended minimum servings of important foods; in later decades, its visual guides became more nuanced, illustrating the composition of a healthy diet and encouraging exercise. NPR Cartoons’ near limitless bounds allow for rich satireFor decades, TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “South Park” have satirized American culture and politics. Satire thrives on hyperbole and exaggeration and cartoonists' ability to render the world in any way they choose allows for more elevated critiques. Will Schoder Joan Didion's 1967 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem' laid the hippie counterculture bareDidion wrote a detailed account of living alongside hippies in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury area in the 1960s. Beyond their style and politics, Didion uncovered chaos, with one particularly shocking interview of a 5-year-old on LSD. Her stories challenged the movement's message of freedom and utopia in California. The Saturday Evening Post Consumer spending accounts for 70% of US GDP, making Black Friday significantLizabeth Cohen, a history professor at Harvard and author of the book “A Consumer's Republic: The Politics Of Mass Consumption In Postwar America,” has argued that the US government has presented consumerism as a way out of economic crisis or decline since around World War II. NPR Warren Zevon's sardonic takes landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of FameWarren Zevon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. Political writer Andrew Walworth highlights Zevon's keen interest in international politics, which often found their way into his memorably wry lyrics. Real Clear Politics The Dow remains a shorthand for America’s economic healthFor over a century, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been one of the most closely watched market barometers. Its rises and falls dominate headlines and politics, shaping how Americans perceive the strength of their economy. MarketWatch Trace the rise of oil: from early drilling to today’s global powerThis animated map video vividly illustrates how petroleum shaped global politics and industry—from 18th-century uses and 19th-century drilling booms in North America to today’s OPEC strategies, shale revolution, and geopolitical oil influence. Geo History Learn how Mexico’s anti-slavery stance shaped the US–Texas conflictHistorian Alice Baumgartner explores how Mexico’s abolition of slavery clashed with Anglo settlers' ambitions in Texas. The episode reveals how enslaved people fled south to freedom, reshaping the politics that led to Texas independence and the Mexican-American War. Texas Public Radio There are ETFs that track lawmakers' stock purchasesIf you can’t get enough politics in your life, why not invest like a politician? Because members of Congress are required to disclose their stock purchases, you can do just that, and the NANC and KRUZ ETFs make it even easier. NANC, referencing Nancy Pelosi, holds a basket of stocks that Democratic politicians have purchased. KRUZ, referencing Ted Cruz, holds a basket of Republican-held stocks. Financial Times Some Watergate reforms may have fueled today's partisan, confrontational CongressThe newly elected officials after the Watergate scandal dismantled seniority norms, opened committee votes, and televised proceedings—efforts aimed at increasing transparency that, unintentionally, may have fueled the polarized and combative tone of today's Congress. POLITICO Magazine 'Hair' helped redefine Broadway theater "Hair" rewrote the rule book, bringing politics, race, and, yes, nudity to Broadway. Plenty was going on backstage, too, with the young, revolutionary cast embracing the countercultural life they portrayed onstage. Broadway.com Whitman's antislavery writing often focused on white AmericansThe poet was openly opposed to slavery, though some of his writing focuses on abolition’s benefits for white people rather than for the lives of the enslaved. The Walt Whitman Archive Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia to establish the Pulitzer PrizeThe man who transformed the New York World into the largest newspaper in America in the late 1800s left his home country of Hungary in 1864 to fight in the US Civil War. When he died in 1911, Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to found its journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize. Founders Podcast X (Twitter) started as a way to share short updates via textWhat began as a way to share 140-character updates quickly grew into a vital platform for activism, politics, and pop culture. Hashtags, trending topics, and retweets—now common across the internet—originated on the platform. 1440 Balancing free speech while curbing misinformation has destroyed content moderationAccusations of censorship and bias have led social media companies like Meta and X to scale back or abandon moderation tools—just as foreign propaganda surges. Researchers say their ability to track manipulation online has become severely limited. Columbia Journalism Review Marlon Brando sent Apache and Yaqui actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his OscarEach year at the Academy Awards, winners of the highest achievements in film give speeches expressing their gratitude, while also venturing into politics, humor, and emotion. Some speeches are met with boos, including Littlefeather's message from Brando refusing the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans in film. Others have remained memorable for their brevity, like Joe Pesci's six-word acceptance. TIME Non-Western performance art developed in its own political contextThe medium’s emerging popularity in 1990s China is a perfect example of this. Many Chinese artists incorporated the practice of meditation into their works, combining the Buddhist tradition with various modes of endurance art to comment on divisions within Chinese society and the power of the government. LEAP Political science professors say dystopias are defined by government coercionShauna Shames and Amy Atchison, two political science professors and the authors of "Survive and Resist: The Definitive Guide to Dystopian Politics,” argue that defining a real-world dystopia depends on whether a government is using coercion to protect its citizens or to control them. Shames and Atchison seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of the word “dystopia,” one they note they began hearing more and more as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed. The Conversation Orwell warned readers about how abuse of language can lead to dystopiasIn his 1946 essay, “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell argues that language is the primary tool of political control and is “designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” The essay warns readers that how they use and consume language will dictate what they permit—or prohibit—in society. The Orwell Foundation The Beat Generation inspired significant parts of 1960s countercultureThe Beat Generation championed the transformative power of psychedelics, rebelled against the post-war social order, and called for more radical politics. With a strong foothold in San Francisco, it's no surprise these themes were carried over to the city's 1960s counterculture, informing the larger national hippie movement. University of Virginia Supreme Court justices serve for lifeThe Constitution grants Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments to shield them from electoral politics and outside pressure, a design meant to preserve judicial independence but now widely debated due to longer lifespans and partisan balances of the court. Mental Floss The Slavic Ded Moroz is a more secular version of Santa ClausAtheism was long a central part of Soviet politics. One facet was an attempt to wipe out religious holidays, Christmas (and Santa) included. Ded Moroz, or Father Frost, is the Soviet version of Santa, who also travels by carriage and has a long white beard. Jetset Times Watch a 1957 news report on the Sputnik launchThis 1957 news report captures the shock and uncertainty that followed the launch of Sputnik, showing how the first artificial satellite immediately altered global politics, military planning, and public perceptions of technological power. DEEP SPACE TV Nearly a quarter of the US's 451 top-ranked podcasts belong to the true crime genrePerhaps, Pew Research Center proposes, this popularity stems from the fame of "Serial," the 2014 hit series about a 1999 murder in Baltimore. Politics and government is the second top genre. Outside typical genre divides lie series such as fictional radio stories and Dungeons & Dragons podcasts, which account for 12% of top-ranked podcasts. Pew Research Center In 2024, deepfake audio of London Mayor Sadiq Khan nearly caused real-world disorderThe audio included incendiary remarks related to the ongoing Palestinian protests and played on the public's preexisting political biases. The technology has since destabilized the concept of truth in elections, where politicians blame the use of real gaffes on AI and deepfakes to spread misinformation. Washington Post See how migrating tribes reshaped Europe after the fall of RomeDuring the early Middle Ages (c. 300–700 CE), groups such as the Franks, Vandals, Visigoths, and Suebi migrated into former Roman territories. Their movements transformed European politics and culture while preserving many Roman traditions. World History Encyclopedia The Greek city of Alexandria in Egypt helped form the template for modern citiesIt was designed by Dinocrates, who studied under Hippodamus, the father of urban planning. Hippodamus preached that urban planning should take into account function, culture, and politics. Dinocrates' design of Alexandria meant applying Hippodamus' teachings on a scale never before attempted. The Guardian

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