Government

In an era of rapid change, the managers of our nation's wild spaces are asking: What counts as natural anymore?

The National Parks Face a Looming Existential Crisis

Political uncertainty and a changing climate converge to forge the park system's biggest challenge yet

How JFK's Clever TV Strategies Helped Him Win the Election

Seventy million people tuned in to watch America's first televised presidential debate in 1960. They were met with a well-prepared, well-dressed JFK

Hitler Youth members burn books. Photograph dated 1938.

A Brief History of Book Burning, From the Printing Press to Internet Archives

As long as there have been books, people have burned them—but over the years, the motivation has changed

Once the tablet-like tool is plugged into an individual’s cellphone, it can detect if the device was in use before a crash.

Can the ‘Textalyzer’ Stop New Yorkers From Texting and Driving?

The device would allow police to check if phone usage could be to blame for a car crash, but critics have raised privacy concerns

Where Did the Term “Gerrymander” Come From?

Elbridge Gerry was a powerful voice in the founding of the nation, but today he's best known for the political practice with an amphibious origin

Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square by John Lewis Krimmel (1787–1821)

The Brief Period, 200 Years Ago, When American Politics Was Full of “Good Feelings”

James Monroe’s 1817 goodwill tour kicked off a decade of party-less government – but he couldn’t stop the nation from dividing again

The Murray Islands: Waier in foreground, Murray (Mer, home of the late Eddie Mabo) beyond.

How Indigenous Australians Are Still Fighting for Their Lands 25 Years After a Landmark Court Case

The struggle continues for the people who have lived on the continent for 50,000 years

Suburban single-family homes in Fresno, California.

The Racial Segregation of American Cities Was Anything but Accidental

A housing policy expert explains how federal government policies created the suburbs and the inner city

Botanists might see fruit, but to a tariff collector, there's nothing but vegetables here.

Tomatoes Have Legally Been Vegetables Since 1893

Okay, so it's technically a fruit. But we don't eat it like one

Theodore Roosevelt regularly employed executive orders to achieve his political goals.

The Debate Over Executive Orders Began With Teddy Roosevelt's Mad Passion for Conservation

Teddy used nearly 10 times as many executive orders as his predecessor. The repercussions are still felt today

The Sayler Park tornado which struck the Cincinnati area as part of the "Super Outbreak" was a category F5 storm on the Fujita scale, the highest possible rating on the scale.

How 148 Tornadoes in One Day in 1974 Changed Emergency Preparedness

The “super outbreak” flattened towns and killed and injured thousands, all with little warning and in the space of 24 hours

English-Speaking Cameroon Hasn’t Had Any Internet for 70 Days

The shutdown targets the country's two Anglophone regions

King Tut captivated the U.S. in 1976, thanks in part to an NEH grant.

Five Things You Didn’t Realize Were Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities

Since 1965, the agency has bestowed more than 63,000 humanities-related grants

What Is the Congressional Review Act?

The U.S. Congress is wiping away rules and regulations finalized in the last months of the Obama administration through a little-used 1996 law

Permanent structures are not allowed in Dabaab, the world's largest refugee camp.

World’s Largest Refugee Camp Ordered to Stay Open

A Kenyan judge called the government's plan to close Dadaab "discriminatory"

The packaged foods you get at the grocery store are all regulated by the FDA. So are drugs, medical devices, cigarettes and condoms.

Where Did the FDA Come From, And What Does It Do?

From unglamorous origins, the federal agency has risen to ensure the safety of everything from lasers to condoms

Clerks (right) will no longer have to wear their distinctive wigs in the House of Commons.

British Parliament Is Losing its Wigs

They’re itchy, formal—and part of centuries of tradition

Romanians protest in Victoria Place in Bucharest on January 22.

Why Romanians Took to the Streets This Weekend

Up to half a million citizens protested a new decree that would have diminished anti-corruption penalties

The Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario is one of the world's leading long-term experiments tracking the effects of climate change, pollution and other factors on freshwater ecosystems.

Canadian Scientists Explain Exactly How Their Government Silenced Science

It wasn’t just climate research. Rock snot, sharks and polar bears: All were off-limits during the Harper administration

Screenshot of interactive

This Interactive Maps Out the Lives of Former Presidents

From Washington to Obama, how ex-commanders-in-chief bided their time after leaving office

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