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History and cultural essays

Historical events, biographies, artifacts, cultural history, nostalgia, and historical criticism.

25,797 stories · 353 in 30 days · Updated Sep 28, 2026

The pace of conversation

Posts per month

2020-01: 376 posts2020-02: 310 posts2020-03: 291 posts2020-04: 281 posts2020-05: 339 posts2020-06: 322 posts2020-07: 313 posts2020-08: 313 posts2020-09: 305 posts2020-10: 307 posts2020-11: 289 posts2020-12: 416 posts2021-01: 402 posts2021-02: 316 posts2021-03: 323 posts2021-04: 327 posts2021-05: 355 posts2021-06: 313 posts2021-07: 333 posts2021-08: 374 posts2021-09: 352 posts2021-10: 337 posts2021-11: 315 posts2021-12: 343 posts2022-01: 363 posts2022-02: 326 posts2022-03: 379 posts2022-04: 337 posts2022-05: 312 posts2022-06: 350 posts2022-07: 349 posts2022-08: 362 posts2022-09: 362 posts2022-10: 309 posts2022-11: 320 posts2022-12: 412 posts2023-01: 367 posts2023-02: 316 posts2023-03: 292 posts2023-04: 299 posts2023-05: 334 posts2023-06: 327 posts2023-07: 326 posts2023-08: 346 posts2023-09: 338 posts2023-10: 312 posts2023-11: 320 posts2023-12: 360 posts2024-01: 378 posts2024-02: 314 posts2024-03: 277 posts2024-04: 264 posts2024-05: 264 posts2024-06: 301 posts2024-07: 267 posts2024-08: 264 posts2024-09: 250 posts2024-10: 274 posts2024-11: 262 posts2024-12: 305 posts2025-01: 296 posts2025-02: 219 posts2025-03: 316 posts2025-04: 326 posts2025-05: 316 posts2025-06: 263 posts2025-07: 291 posts2025-08: 303 posts2025-09: 261 posts2025-10: 311 posts2025-11: 284 posts2025-12: 317 posts2026-01: 354 posts2026-02: 280 posts2026-03: 297 posts2026-04: 297 posts2026-05: 271 posts2026-06: 317 posts2026-07: 335 posts2026-08: 332 posts2026-09: 321 posts
2020-012026-09

Posts per month · first and latest months may be partial.

01 / EXPLORE THROUGH TIME

Timeline

Start with the latest. Scroll back through time, or zoom in for more.

Year by yearUp to 5 stories per year
20262,804 stories
In Memory of My Wife, Elise Cawley, with Thanks for 36 Wonderful Years↗ writings.stephenwolfram.com · HN · 95 comments · 1645 points · Aug 04, 2026
An entire Herculaneum scroll has been read for the first time↗ scrollprize.org · HN · 369 comments · 1714 points · Jun 25, 2026
The West forgot how to make things, now it’s forgetting how to code↗ techtrenches.dev · HN · 851 comments · 1198 points · Apr 26, 2026
Tony Hoare has died↗ blog.computationalcomplexity.org · HN · 268 comments · 2043 points · Mar 10, 2026
We Will Not Be Divided↗ notdivided.org · HN · 841 comments · 2645 points · Feb 28, 2026
20253,503 stories
We invited a man into our home at Christmas and he stayed with us for 45 years↗ bbc.co.uk · HN · 282 comments · 1178 points · Dec 25, 2025
The 'Toy Story' You Remember↗ animationobsessive.substack.com · HN · 338 comments · 1196 points · Nov 11, 2025
Nine things I learned in ninety years↗ edwardpackard.com · HN · 382 comments · 1006 points · Sep 23, 2025
Middle-aged man trading cards go viral in rural Japan town↗ tokyoweekender.com · HN · 403 comments · 1817 points · Apr 07, 2025
An image of an archeologist adventurer who wears a hat and uses a bullwhip↗ theaiunderwriter.substack.com · HN · 898 comments · 1503 points · Apr 03, 2025
20243,420 stories
Thomas E. Kurtz has died↗ computerhistory.org · HN · 149 comments · 618 points · Nov 14, 2024
Leaving and Waving↗ deannadikeman.com · HN · 94 comments · 634 points · Nov 12, 2024
Medieval↗ teenage.engineering · HN · 321 comments · 880 points · Aug 06, 2024
The curious case of the missing period↗ tjaart.substack.com · HN · 193 comments · 531 points · May 21, 2024
Obituary for a quiet life (2023)↗ bittersoutherner.com · HN · 293 comments · 1416 points · Apr 14, 2024
20233,937 stories
"No inventions; no innovations" A History of US Steel↗ construction-physics.com · HN · 235 comments · 253 points · Dec 29, 2023
IDEs we had 30 years ago↗ blogsystem5.substack.com · HN · 603 comments · 683 points · Dec 28, 2023
Generation Junk↗ walterkirn.substack.com · HN · 460 comments · 346 points · Dec 28, 2023
Operation Snow White↗ en.wikipedia.org · HN · 72 comments · 224 points · Dec 27, 2023
The era of American computer magazines has drawn to a close↗ bytecellar.com · HN · 161 comments · 336 points · Dec 24, 2023
20224,181 stories
How to become a pirate archivist↗ annas-blog.org · HN · 99 comments · 579 points · Oct 17, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II has died↗ bbc.com · HN · 1596 comments · 2827 points · Sep 08, 2022
What’s the strangest thing you ever found in a book?↗ noctslackv2.wordpress.com · HN · 467 comments · 1070 points · Aug 03, 2022
3,200-year-old Egyptian tablet records excuses for why people missed work↗ openculture.com · HN · 400 comments · 560 points · Apr 26, 2022
What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)↗ loc.gov · HN · 640 comments · 805 points · Jan 06, 2022
20214,090 stories
100 years of whatever this will be↗ apenwarr.ca · HN · 896 comments · 1475 points · Dec 02, 2021
HN 15 Years ago↗ news.ycombinator.com · HN · 148 comments · 558 points · Oct 09, 2021
“One Day Longer and Those 13 Boys Would Be Dead”↗ zeit.de · HN · 272 comments · 694 points · Jul 10, 2021
Vietnam War images from the North Vietnamese side↗ rarehistoricalphotos.com · HN · 581 comments · 741 points · May 25, 2021
“I will slaughter you”↗ daniel.haxx.se · HN · 241 comments · 567 points · Feb 19, 2021
20203,862 stories
WTF Happened in 1971? (2019)↗ wtfhappenedin1971.com · HN · 454 comments · 808 points · Nov 23, 2020
Remembering my father↗ gatesnotes.com · HN · 183 comments · 679 points · Sep 15, 2020
Frances Allen has died↗ ibm.com · HN · 101 comments · 892 points · Aug 05, 2020
Seinfeld Adventure↗ seinfeldgame.com · HN · 169 comments · 861 points · Apr 24, 2020
Donald Knuth was framed↗ buttondown.email · HN · 180 comments · 632 points · Feb 24, 2020
Scroll through time ↕

02 / CATCH UP

The conversation now

Popular stories, with attention fading over roughly two weeks.

We must pace the frontier↗ darioamodei.com · HN · 1049 comments · 750 points · Sep 12, 2026
Let's make quality the norm again↗ forbrukerradet.no · HN · 502 comments · 459 points · Sep 15, 2026
Everybody's Lost Their Minds↗ netmeister.org · HN · 348 comments · 373 points · Sep 17, 2026
The revolt of the reader↗ bcantrill.dtrace.org · HN · 301 comments · 612 points · Sep 05, 2026
Remembering Johannes Doerfert↗ blog.llvm.org · HN · 7 comments · 122 points · Sep 24, 2026

03 / GO DEEPER

Follow your curiosity

Find a particular story, revisit a year, or see what resonated.

Highest rated · the last 30 days

We must pace the frontier↗ darioamodei.com · HN · 1049 comments · 750 points · Sep 12, 2026
The revolt of the reader↗ bcantrill.dtrace.org · HN · 301 comments · 612 points · Sep 05, 2026
Let's make quality the norm again↗ forbrukerradet.no · HN · 502 comments · 459 points · Sep 15, 2026
Everybody's Lost Their Minds↗ netmeister.org · HN · 348 comments · 373 points · Sep 17, 2026
The Rise and Fall of Agent Civilizations↗ dwarkesh.com · HN · 197 comments · 277 points · Aug 29, 2026
Unusual Suspects↗ neal.fun · HN · 30 comments · 213 points · Sep 02, 2026
Konrad Zuse Museum shutting down due to lack of funding↗ heise.de · HN · 81 comments · 167 points · Aug 31, 2026
The Lamentable Later Life of Lemmings↗ filfre.net · HN · 33 comments · 155 points · Sep 19, 2026
Gloria Steinem has died↗ theguardian.com · HN · 64 comments · 151 points · Sep 03, 2026
We've followed their lives for six decades; now the stars of 7 Up are bowing out↗ bbc.co.uk · HN · 37 comments · 132 points · Sep 12, 2026

10 stories shown.

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