History

In 1961, before the first human reached space, a chimpanzee was strapped into a rocket and sent into the unknown

Gerry Gable, the dedicated, controversial founder of Searchlight magazine, had infiltrators and spies on his books in an intelligence war against racism

A Croatian rock singer is using Nazi salutes to gee up his crowd. Even worse, the prime minister is apparently a fan

In 1968, a US bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashed in Greenland. That time the bombs didn’t detonate and there was no catastrophe. But the nation now faces a new US threat and the outcome could be much worse

She was always adamant that she had done nothing heroic; that helping other people should be considered normal, not exceptional

The great crime writer, who died 50 years ago, may have looked in later life like Miss Marple – but in her youth she was an intrepid world traveller with a passion for surfing

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

The booty went down in a shipwreck over 300 years ago. Now comes the tricky question of ownership

Behind locked doors in museums and archaeological sites, priceless works gather dust while the world waits outside

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

Decisions made in Beijing have caused immense suffering for the Chinese people. It’s time to understand the mistakes of the past, or risk falling into ignorance

The Dutch historian has taken the magazine to task for a scathing review of his BBC lecture series

A Scottish geologist made a discovery that altered the way we see ourselves, and our planet. And yet his name is widely forgotten

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

The Swiss want their unique singing tradition to be given prized status as part of the world’s cultural heritage – but some nations are struggling to join in

An attempt to remove the stories of Black GIs from a second world war cemetery in the Netherlands ran into stiff resistance

He never lifted the World Cup, but his intelligence and fight for democracy made him one of the nation’s most beloved footballing icons

What they couldn’t take they tried the destroy, using statues for target practice - they even shot all the mummies

The restless historian was a victim of his own work ethic – and saw his dreams for British society smashed by Thatcher

Hitler’s closest circle faced the noose - but others in his regime were recruited to build the new West Germany

Thirty years after the Srebrenica massacre, the country remains suspended between beauty and grief

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

For obvious reasons, understanding why the masses fell for the fanatics would be the much more worthwhile research today

The film that’s dividing critics and the public has writer/director James Vanderbilt at the heart of its problems

It may lack the innovation of Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, but James Vanderbilt’s compelling film still makes for essential watching today

In Trump’s eyes, Cheney was a non-person who did not even merit a comment upon his death

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news

Rambling houses were part of the bloodstream of west Irish rural life. They have, however, played another role as well

The advance of human civilisation has been driven by the use of minerals - in the long run, the lesson is that political and military power comes from the earth’s crust

Rock Against Racism’s joyous free concerts beat back the far right in 1970s Britain. That defiant blend of politics and music remains an inspiration – but its playbook may be obsolete

Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news