Today’s timely discussion topic: Best books/documentaries/etc. about political history? Whether it be someone obvious like Robert Caro or more obscure; a biography of Great Men or a history of a movement; heck, I’d love to hear suggestions about non-American politics. … Continue reading The Political History Thread

The History Thread makes its return after a SPOOKY hiatus! To get into the Halloween spirit, discuss your favorite scary stories from history! Ghosts, goblins, vampires, cryptids or just frightening jerks. Continue reading The History Thread Does the Monster Mash

One of my nerdier interests (even within the general header of history) is historiography, eg. the study of how history is written and interpreted. Some will find this a hopelessly dense and dry topic, but I’m fascinated by how the … Continue reading The History Thread Ponders Historiography

It is October, thus officially fall! Will I finally make  time to write  another Things That Are Not article for this year’s spooky season? We’ll see. No assigned topic this week, discuss whatever you’ve been reading, watching or thinking about … Continue reading The Fall History Thread

This week’s optional topic: Worst/weirdest designs. A great example is the Vitse-admiral Popov, a Russian warship designed in the 1870s. With Russia’s Black Sea Fleet limited by treaty after the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II approved a proposal by Vice … Continue reading The Goofy History Thread

No discussion prompt this week, find historical topics to discuss. Continue reading The History Thread Shrugs

This week’s optional discussion topic: How do you handle  “evil” figures in history? As those in the PT have no doubt seen, I just finished rereading Eichmann in Jerusalem which famously bases  its argument around the concept of “the banality … Continue reading The Banality of the History Thread

Since the thread’s running late, I’ll fall back on a favorite discussion prompt: Worst history books/documentaries/podcasts you’ve experienced? Sometimes works marketing themselves as “nonfiction” are as unreliable as the craziest novel or dumbest TV show. Continue reading The Worst History Thread

This week’s optional topic: displaced references. TV Tropes has a page devoted to “Parody Displacement,” where parodies or references to a original work popular in its day are spoofed so often that they overtake the original. A classic example is … Continue reading The Displaced History Thread

This week’s optional discussion prompt: What historical subjects did you first encounter through pop culture? Was it enough to pique your interest, like Miku finding her beloved Sengoku Warlords through a video game? Was there something that seemed interesting in … Continue reading The Popular History Thread

This week’s optional discussion topic: Psychology knowledge and misconceptions. Like a lot of sciences, psychology seems to filter down to the broader public in crude, easily  caricatured form, causing misconceptions that linger for decades after actual research and expert knowledge … Continue reading The History Thread Is All In The Mind

This week’s discussion prompt: Worst/least interesting part of history? Inspired by a PT discussion: which parts of history (either specific periods, or events or aspects) do you find least interesting to study or learn about? Please be kind to each … Continue reading The Boring History Thread

This week’s History Thread is inspired by the idiotic fu-for-all over a certain movie in theaters: Worst historical inaccuracies in media. Some anachronisms are unavoidable, some jiggering with the timeline in a historical drama is probably unavoidable. But what kinds … Continue reading The Historically Inaccurate History Thread

This week’s optional thread topic: common arguments within your field of study or interest. Can be serious academic debates or nonspecialists crashing the party with poor understanding or ideological motivations. Continue reading The Argumentative History Thread

Today’s optional discussion topic: National myths. America’s 250th seems like a good time to kick around this subject. On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, formalizing the United States’ breaking away from England. “[Independence Day] … Continue reading The Independent History Thread

This week’s topic: Historical topics that dumb people need to shut up about. Inspired by a mini-thread in the Politics Thread the other day, what are some historical topics  that people apparently can’t talk about without seeming like morons? r/AskHistorians … Continue reading The History Thread Needs to Shut Up

Reading a bunch of books on Vietnam recently, and spending a lot of time around Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense whose ideas that he could logic America into winning an unwinnable war led to massive tragedy. For decades it’s … Continue reading The Best and the Brightest History Thread

After last week’s much-needed vacation (including a successful expedition to the Antietam battlefield in Maryland), the History Thread returns. Open discussion this week, discuss what you will. Continue reading The Relaxed History Thread