Who was Empress Matilda? The forgotten woman who nearly became England's first queen

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In a world determined to sideline her, Empress Matilda tested the medieval world's understanding of who could rule.

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Dodos probably weren’t as stupid as historians made them out to be: new research

Dodo skull scans show the famously extinct birds were no less brainy than their surviving relatives – and may have roamed at dusk and dawn.

Sara Citron, PhD Candidate in NeuroscienceAug 5, 2026

Aeon

Thucydides the perspicacious

Far from thinking that ‘might makes right’, the great historian’s analysis of war identifies a vice common to all states- by David Polansky & Daniel SchillingerRead on Aeon

David Polansky & Daniel SchillingerAug 3, 2026

The Conversation

Does Saudi Arabia want to develop nuclear weapons? Here’s what history can tell us

US pressure and economic factors have historically prevented Saudi Arabia from developing a nuclear arsenal.

Ibrahim Al-Marashi, Adjunct Professor, IE University; California State University San MarcosAug 1, 2026

Harper's Magazine

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Weekly Review

The U.S. president told a crowd at Wheeler High School, in Georgia, that communists want to destroy Mount Rushmore; hundreds of Russian children attended the Songdowon summer camp, which the British government sanctioned in May for its role in deporting and reeducating Ukrainian children; and the father of Jared Kushner, who is the U.S. president’s son-in-law, said he will relocate to Florida, explaining that he did not want to pay taxes to the mayor of New York. The post Weekly Review appeared first on Harper's Magazine.

Harper’s MagazineJul 28, 2026

The Point

Advanced Fiction

These scenes have been excerpted from the first act of the play Life Worth Living. Modeled after a trauerspiel, or “mourning play,” it was first performed […] The post Advanced Fiction appeared first on The Point Magazine.

Elaine SchiffAug 2, 2026

The New Yorker

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“The Promise,” by Rachel Yoder

You couldn’t be certain, in the night, what sort of world the doors might open onto, were you to turn the knob.

Rachel YoderAug 2, 202620 min read