The Best Articles in History
The most useful articles and videos in History from around the web, curated by thought leaders and our community.
Refind focuses on timeless pieces and updates the list whenever new, must-read articles or videos are discovered.
Top 5 History Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in History by Refind users in 2024 so far.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History
One scientist caused two environmental disasters and the deaths of millions. A part of this video is sponsored by Wren. Offset your carbon footprint on Wren:...
Timothy Snyder: The Making of Modern Ukraine. Class 3: Geography and Ancient History
In Class 3, Timothy Snyder, recently back from a visit to Ukraine, explores the geography and ancient history of the region.Timothy Snyder is the Richard C. ...
A Brief History of Art Movements
The first piece of visual art in history is from 40,000 years ago. The need to create is a part of being human. It’s as old as our species and as innate as a...
The most important century in human history
Is the 21st century the most pivotal time in human history? Explore how the decisions we make now may impact humanity’s future.--Is it possible that this cen...
A History Of The World According To Getty Images
A montage of some of the last century’s most momentous events forms the basis of a reflection on how we view the past – and how commercial archives control…
How to ...?
How to Understand France
France is weird. Why is it the biggest sea country in the world? Why was it the most powerful? Why is it not even the most powerful in Europe anymore? Why is it the only country in the continent that…
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in History on Refind.
The Deep and Enduring History of Universal Basic Income
While the concept stretches back centuries, it has garnered significant attention in recent decades.
The Forgotten History of Hitler’s Establishment Enablers
The Nazi leader didn’t seize power; he was given it.
What’s Behind the Evolution of Neanderthal Portraits
Since the 1800s, Neanderthal depictions have evolved with changing science and social views. An archaeologist explains why the images matter.
Why Julius Caesar's Year of Confusion was the longest year in history
To tame a hopelessly disorganised Roman calendar, Julius Caesar added months, took them away, and invented the leap year.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in History—all under 10 minutes.
Five Timeless Life Lessons from Seneca
Seneca was a Stoic philosopher in Ancient Rome. While his life lessons are 2000 years old, they are now more relevant than ever.
«To build wealth like a Stoic, spend less than you earn, and prioritize saving and investing. This doesn’t mean you should lead a life of severe frugality; simply find a balance.»
A very short history of the F-word
The oldest unambiguous use of the F-word comes from De Officiis, a treatise on moral conduct by Cicero. No, the Roman philosopher didn’t gift English its soon-to-be favorite obscenity. Rather, in…
«For instance, the word didn’t appear in an English-language dictionary until 1966 when The Penguin Dictionary broke the taboo.»
Israel-Gaza war explainer: a visual analysis
A visual guide to the Palestinian territory of Gaza and the war between Israel and Hamas, following the deadly October 7 attack.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in History.
“There’s Nothing Mystical About the Idea that Ideas Change History”
An interview with Steven Pinker.
Inside the Biggest Art Fraud in History
A decades-long forgery scheme ensnared Canada’s most famous Indigenous artist, a rock musician turned sleuth and several top museums. Here's how investigators unraveled the incredible scam
On the importance of staring directly into the sun
It's also important to poke the heart of a dead pigeon
«Most histories of psychology as an experimental science begin with Gustav Fechner setting up a psychophysical laboratory in the middle of the 1800s.»
How to Make a Monster
Ideas about monstrosity were fundamental to ancient and medieval debates about the nature of humanity, and the rhetoric of monstrosity was widely used to dehumanize certain groups in medieval Europe.
How ancient civilisations dealt with trauma
As the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue, there’s deepening concern for the trauma that may come later. But war has been around for millennia. How did our ancestors cope?
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in History, including:
What is Refind?
Every day Refind picks the most relevant links from around the web for you. Picking only a handful of links means focusing on what’s relevant and useful.
How does Refind curate?
It’s a mix of human and algorithmic curation, following a number of steps:
- We monitor 10k+ sources and 1k+ thought leaders on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
- In addition, our users save links from around the web using our Save buttons and our extensions.
- Our algorithm processes 100k+ new links every day and uses external signals to find the most relevant ones, focusing on timeless pieces.
- Our community of active users gets the most relevant links every day, tailored to their interests. They provide feedback via implicit and explicit signals: open, read, listen, share, mark as read, read later, «More/less like this», etc.
- Our algorithm uses these internal signals to refine the selection.
- In addition, we have expert curators who manually curate niche topics.
The result: lists of the best and most useful articles on hundreds of topics.
How does Refind detect «timeless» pieces?
We focus on pieces with long shelf-lives—not news. We determine «timelessness» via a number of metrics, for example, the consumption pattern of links over time.
How many sources does Refind monitor?
We monitor 10k+ content sources on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
Who are the thought leaders in History?
We follow dozens of thought leaders in History, including National Geographic, NASA History Office, Aeon+Psyche, Longform, HistoryExtra.
Missing a thought leader? Submit them here
Can I submit a link?
Indirectly, by using Refind and saving links from outside (e.g., via our extensions).
How can I report a problem?
When you’re logged-in, you can flag any link via the «More» (...) menu. You can also report problems via email to hello@refind.com
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