The Scottish poet, novelist, and historian Andrew Lang once quipped that politicians use statistics the way a drunkard uses a lamppost: “for support rather than illumination.” Indeed, the same line ...

I’m on a text chain with my 3 brothers and all our sons. All of us are liberal arts majors, mostly history. I dare say we Smiths are a bit contrarian. It’s our knowledge of history and learning the ...

In our modern age, we have convinced ourselves that we are so advanced, so enlightened, that the lessons of the past no longer apply to us. We act as though history is an outdated relic—something for ...

Answers to the question about the lessons of history generally oscillate between two extremes. One is summed up in the 1905 aphorism of the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana: “Those who ...

Re: “ICE officer kills driver in Minneapolis, inciting turmoil” (Jan. 8, A1): As national tensions rise over federal enforcement and local resistance, it’s worth remembering that our country has faced ...

US policymakers are forgetting the lessons of history at just the moment their recollection is most needed. The Stimson Center publishes the Red Cell series. Drawing upon the legacy of the CIA’s Red ...