Re-enactment of the Industrial Revolution at the 2012 London Olympics. Source: CC BY 2.0

Preparing for the AI Future: Echoes from the Industrial Revolution

Imagine a world where daily life was marked by the clink of a blacksmith’s hammer and the rustle of horse-drawn carts. This was the reality for much of humanity before the late 18th century. Villages relied on farming to survive and most people lived off the land with just enough to get by. The artisan’s

“The Fall of Babylon” by English painter John Martin depicting Cyrus the Great’s forces overwhelming the Babylonian army. Circa 1831. Source: CC BY 4.0 by the Wellcome Collection.

Of War & Hope: Lessons From History For Israel & Iran

Once again history repeats itself. The Middle East finds itself in the grip of a catastrophic conflict, with recent missile exchanges between Israel and Iran inflicting devastating losses. Recent missile strikes, including one targeting Israel’s Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, and retaliatory airstrikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, have left devastation in their wake.

Mouth of a mandrill – the modern world’s largest monkey. By Belgianchocolate. Source: CC BY 4.0

A Time When Giant Monkeys Haunted Our Early Ancestors

In Earth’s grand evolutionary tale, some creatures influenced the lives of our ancestors by sharing their environments, rather than contributing to their direct lineage. On top of that, these creatures may have posed immense hazards to our primeval ancestors. Among them is Dinopithecus, the “terrible baboon.” This extinct supersized primate once roamed the landscapes of

The pope and the coat of arms

Pope Leo XIV’s Coat of Arms: Emblems of Faith and Unity

Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto were revealed by the Vatican this May 2025, as is customary in heraldry for Popes to signal their main interests. According to Leo, all three order symbols, the fleur-de-lis, the pierced heart and the motto In Illo Uno Unum, are rooted in the life of St. Augustine,

Walter Crane - Britomart (1900).

Pregnant Warriors: The Power of Viking Women

Pregnant women wielding swords and wearing martial helmets, foetuses set to avenge their fathers – and a harsh world where not all newborns were born free or given burial. These are some of the realities uncovered by the first interdisciplinary study to focus on pregnancy in the Viking age, authored by myself, Kate Olley, Brad Marshall

Combat between mounted Christian Knights and the Islamic Seljuks in the Second Crusade. Source: Unknown Author / Public Domain.

The Crusades: Four Hundred Years of War (Part One)

The Crusades are perhaps the defining idea of medieval Europe. Over more than four centuries they redefined its history, set it on a new course with a common, foreign enemy against whom the Christian countries could find common cause. They changed Europe forever. Countries rose and fell in the shadow of these religious wars, Christian

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