Current events in historical contextAbout
Categories
20th century · 21st century · 1918–2026
Latest article

Down with the flu!

Vaccination is one of the most effective public health tools in human history.

Read more
StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedOctober 10, 2026
1918–2026Health
The cruise ship M/V Hondius, where cases of hantavirus were reported, and an approaching boat carrying medical personnel. © Newsweek /AFP/Getty Images80
0PoliticsScience and technology

A New Threat: Hantavirus? The Role of Shipping in the Spread of Diseases in the Past

More than 150 people, including 17 Americans, are currently confined to their cabins aboard a luxury cruise ship off the…

StoryLukáš KrajčírWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingLukáš KrajčírPublishedMay 6, 2026
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in Bonn, Germany. © Wikimedia.org80
2026PoliticsCulture

Arch-Friends: The Special Relationship Between the U.S. and the U.K.

April 28, 2026, marked a historic diplomatic moment when King Charles III of the United Kingdom addressed both houses of…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedMay 4, 2026
Anti-Israeli protest in Tehran in 2018. © Wikimedia.org80
1979Politics

Enemies to the death?

Today, we rightly view Israel and Iran as irreconcilable adversaries. However, if we take a step back in time, we might …

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedMay 2, 2026
General in American captivity. © Wikimedia.org

80
1989PoliticsCulture

From General to Prisoner: The Case of Manuel Noriega

The dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by U.S. special forces on January 3, 2026, shocked the global publi…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 30, 2026
US Special Forces in action. © Wikimedia.org80
Politics

A Hundredth of a Second: Beheading the Snake as a Military Strategy Throughout History

War is traditionally viewed as a long, bloody, and immensely costly process. It involves the clash of massive armies, hu…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 29, 2026
Mečiar's Interior Minister Gustáv Krajči, responsible for the 1997 referendum defeat. © Wikimedia.org80
1997Politics

The Voice of the People or Political Theater? The History of Referendums in the Slovak Republic and the Prospects for a Plebiscite in 2026

The Slovak Republic is preparing for its next—and tenth—nationwide referendum since its establishment in 1993 [9,11]. Th…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 27, 2026
Winner and loser of the Hungarian parliamentary elections on 12 April 2026. © Wikimedia.org80
2026Politics

From Trianon to the Tisza: A Century of Hungarian Democracy and the Earthquake in Central Europe

The parliamentary elections held in Hungary on Sunday, April 12, 2026, brought about an event that had seemed impossible…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 27, 2026
Comrades Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Fidel Castro in 1961. © Wikimedia.org
80
1959Politics

A Century of the Island of Freedom

Cuba, known as the “Island of Freedom,” is currently at one of the most critical junctures in its modern history. The ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro means that Havana has lost one of its last remaining allies…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 27, 2026
The Great Wall of China, the most famous monument of ancient civilization. © Wikimedia.org80
Politics

The Journey There and Back: China as a World Power

Today, the world is watching with amazement—and sometimes with concern—as China re-emerges as a global superpower. After…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 23, 2026
Clear signage at the pump for customers in the winter of 1973-74. © Wikimedia.org80
1973Politics

Oil shocks then and now

When you pull up to a gas station today and watch the rising prices on the pumps with concern, your mind probably wander…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 23, 2026
Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1999. © Wikimedia.org80
1999Politics

Impeachment as a Tool for Justice and Political Struggle

The highest political office in the United States carries enormous power, but the Founding Fathers wisely built a safegu…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 23, 2026
The return of Gregory XI from Avignon to Rome in 1377. © Wikimedia.org80
2026Politics

Popes in the Clutches of Secular Power

With a tradition spanning nearly two millennia, the Papacy is the oldest continuously functioning institution in the Western world. Let us n…

StoryAdam RadaWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingAdam RadaPublishedApril 21, 2026
Prezident USA Donald Trump. © pbs.org80
2026PoliticsCulture

Trump nie je prvý. Bizarné prístupy prezidentov v dejinách USA

Prezidentský úrad Spojených štátov amerických je často vnímaný cez prizmu idealizovaných štátnikov. História však ukazuj…

StoryLukáš KrajčírWritten byJackCopyeditingJack, Lukáš KrajčírPublishedApril 18, 2026
Supporters of Germany's far-right Third Way party at a rally against refugees and migrants in Saalfeld, 2015. © wsj.com80
2026Politics

A Sleeping Volcano? The Rise and Fall of the German Far Right in the Past

The current rise of the far-right, anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is riding a wave of popul…

StoryLukáš KrajčírWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingLukáš KrajčírPublishedApril 18, 2026
NASA's Orion spacecraft during final tests, 21 February 2020. © Wikimedia.org80
2026PoliticsScience and technology

China Instead of Russia? The Space Race in the 20th Century and Today

After more than half a century of lunar silence, the Moon is once again taking center stage for the world’s major powers…

StoryLukáš KrajčírWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingLukáš KrajčírPublishedApril 18, 2026
Women at a demonstration following the death of Mahsa Amini at Martyrs' Square in Beirut (Lebanon), September 21, 2022. © REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir80
2026PoliticsCulture

Voices for Freedom: Iranian Intellectuals and Their Vision of a Democratic Society

In European—and especially Slovak—public discourse, Iran and democracy are often portrayed as irreconcilable opposites. Looking at today’s Iran, which is dominated by a theocratic regime and the uncompromising suppressio…

StoryLukáš KrajčírWritten byAgent JackCopyeditingLukáš KrajčírPublishedApril 17, 2026