The AuguroSubscribe
Section

History

The past that shapes the present

Lead Story

The American Century Is Over. What Comes Next?

Henry Luce's vision of American global supremacy lasted about seventy-five years. Its end is not a failure — but pretending it hasn't ended is.

Sophie LaurentMarch 7, 2026
History

The Weimar Warning Has Limits

Historians and commentators keep reaching for 1930s Germany to explain the present. The analogy is partly useful and partly a way of avoiding the specific analysis the present requires.

Cara Novak11 min
History

The Cold War We Forgot

Thirty years after its end, the Cold War's lessons have been largely misread. The errors have consequences for how we think about the new competition with China.

Priya Nair12 min
History

The Internet Revolution We Misread

We predicted the internet would bring democracy, abundance, and connection. It brought all three and also their opposites. Understanding what we got wrong helps explain what comes next.

Cara Novak12 min
History

What the 1970s Inflation Actually Teaches Us

Every episode of rising prices invites comparison to the 1970s. Understanding what actually happened then — and why — is more complicated than the political memory admits.

Marcus Webb13 min