Amanda Foreman

All articles by amanda

From drinking gold to injecting dog hormones, people have searched for eternal youth in some unlikely places. The Wall Street Journal May 18, 2023 A study explaining why mouse hairs turn gray made global headlines last month. Not because the little critters are in desperate need of a makeover; but knowing the “why” in mice
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Historically Speaking: Using Forensic Evidence to Solve Crimes

Today’s DNA techniques are just the latest addition to a toolkit used by detectives since ancient times. The Wall Street Journal May 5, 2023 In February, police in Burlington, Vt., announced they had solved the city’s oldest cold case, the 1971 murder of 24-year-old schoolteacher Rita Curran. Taking advantage of genetic genealogy using DNA databases—the
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Historically Speaking: The Search for Better Weapons Against Pests

From sulfur to DDT, farmers have spent millennia looking for ways to stop crop-destroying insects. The Wall Street Journal April 20, 2023 The scientific breakthroughs of the 17th century, such as the compound microscope, made the natural world more intelligible and therefore controllable. By the 18th century, a farmer’s arsenal included nicotine, mercury and arsenic-based
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Historically Speaking: The Long Road to Pensions for All

From the Song Dynasty to the American Civil War, governments have experimented with ways to support retired soldiers and workers The Wall Street Journal April 6, 2023 “Will you still need me, will you still feed me,/When I’m sixty-four?” sang the Beatles in their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. These were somewhat
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Historically Speaking: In Search of a Good Night’s Sleep

People have been pursuing the secrets of slumber ever since the ancient Egyptians opened sacred ‘sleep clinics.’ The Wall Street Journal March 24, 2023 It is a riddle worthy of the Sphinx: What is abundant and yet in short supply, free and yet frequently paid for, necessary for life and yet resembles death? The answer
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Historically Speaking: When Taxis Were Drawn by Horses

Long before Uber, there were Roman litters, Venetian gondolas and other variations on the ride for hire. The Wall Street Journal March 10, 2023 Last month drivers working for Uber and Lyft went on strike in cities in the U.S., Great Britain and the Netherlands. This was on top of strikes in December. The digital
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Historically Speaking: Even Ancient Children Did Homework

Americans have long debated the value of take-home assignments, but children have been struggling with them for millennia. The Wall Street Journal February 24, 2023 If American schoolchildren no longer had to do hours of homework each night, a lot of dogs might miss out on their favorite snack, if an old excuse is to be
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Historically Speaking: The Ancient Elixir Made by Bees

Honey has always been a sweet treat, but it has also long served as a preservative, medicine and salve. The Wall Street Journal February 9, 2023 The U.S. Department of Agriculture made medical history last month when it approved the first vaccine for honey bees. Hives will be inoculated against American Foulbrood, a highly contagious
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Historically Speaking: Fakers, Con Men and Pretenders to the Throne

George Santos is far from the first public figure to have assumed an identity later discovered to be rife with fictions The Wall Street Journal January 27, 2023 Few would have thought it possible in the age of the internet, and yet U.S. Rep. George Santos turns out to have invented a long list of
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Historically Speaking: The Long, Dark Shadow of the Real ‘Bedlam’

Today’s debate over compulsory treatment for the mentally ill has roots in a history of good intentions gone awry The Wall Street Journal January 12, 2023 This year, California and New York City will roll out plans to force the homeless mentally ill to receive hospital treatment. The initiatives face fierce legal challenges despite their
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CBS News: Prince Harry accuses his brother William of attacking him in new memoir

Prince Harry is reportedly accusing his brother William of physically attacking him during an argument in his new memoir, “Spare,” set to be released next week. CBS News royal contributor Amanda Foreman explains what sparked the argument and how Buckingham Palace is responding. 
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Historically Speaking: When Porcelain Wares Were ‘White Gold’

The fine china we set out for the holidays was once a mysterious imported substance that European alchemists struggled to recreate The Wall Street Journal December 22, 2022 It is that time of year again, when the table is laden, the candles are lit, and the good china comes out of cupboard. The rest of
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The New York Times: This Royal Saga Has a Surprise Ending

December 11, 2022 The New York Times Once upon a time, a boy met a girl, and they fell in love. This was no ordinary love, just as this is no ordinary story. They first set eyes on each other in a crowded restaurant. They talked, nothing more. And yet each felt the connection between
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Historically Speaking: You Might Not Want to Win a Roman Lottery

Humans have long liked to draw lots as a way to win fortunes and settle fates The Wall Street Journal November 25, 2022 Someone in California won this month’s $2.04 billion Powerball lottery—the largest in U.S. history. The odds are staggering. The likelihood of death by plane crash (often estimated at 1 in 11 million
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The Sunday Times: Kate’s in touch with American over-40s but Meghan is where the money is

As the Prince and Princess of Wales head stateside for their first US tour in eight years, Amanda Foreman assesses the British monarchy’s popularity across the Atlantic The Sunday Times November 26, 2022 Two royal events dominated the American headlines in 1981. The first was the great “curtsy scandal” in April, when the White House
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Historically Speaking: Modern Dentistry’s Painful Past

Just be thankful that your teeth aren’t drilled with a flint or numbed with cocaine The Wall Street Journal November 3, 2022 Since the start of the pandemic, a number of studies have uncovered a surprising link: The presence of gum disease, the first sign often being bloody gums when brushing, can make a patient
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Historically Speaking: The Fungus That Fed Gods And Felled a Pope

There’s no hiding the fact that mushrooms, though delicious, have a dark side The Wall Street Journal October 21, 2022 Fall means mushroom season. And, oh, what joy. The Romans called mushrooms the food of the gods; to the ancient Chinese, they contained the elixir of life; and for many people, anything with truffles is
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Historically Speaking: A Pocket-Sized Dilemma for Women

Unlike men’s clothes, female fashion has been indifferent for centuries to creating ways for women to stash things in their garments The Wall Street Journal September 29, 2022 The current round of Fashion Weeks started in New York on Sep. 9 and will end in Paris on Oct. 4, with London and Milan slotted in
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Harper’s Bazaar: Behind her eyes: celebrating the Queen as a cultural icon

Our steadfast hope Harper’s Bazaar June 2022 If you’ve ever had a dream involving the Queen, you are not alone. After her Silver Jubilee in 1977, it was estimated that more than a third of Britons had dreamt about her at least once, with even ardent republicans confessing to receiving royal visits in their slumbers.
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The Mail on Sunday: No miniskirts. No railing about being a working mother.

Leading historian AMANDA FOREMAN explains why the Queen was a true feminist icon who changed the world for millions of women – in very surprising ways. The Mail on Sunday September 17, 2022 Ask someone for the name of a famous feminist and no doubt you’ll get one of a few prominent women batted back
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The Sunday Times – Special relationship: US mourns the Queen as it would a president

America’s relationship with the monarchy has always been complicated but she brought the two nations together The Sunday Times Saturday, September 10 2022 My phone started ringing at 7am New York time on Thursday. The news about the Queen’s health had reached the networks and they were calling everyone in. By 9am I was in
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Historically Speaking: The Noble Elf Has a Devilish Alter-Ego

Pointy-eared magical creatures abound in folklore, but they weren’t always cute The Wall Street Journal September 8, 2022 “The Rings of Power” series, Amazon’s prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, “The Lord of the Rings,” reserves a central role for heroic elves. Members of this tall, immortal race are distinguished by their beauty and wisdom
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Historically Speaking: The Ancient Art of the Tattoo

Body ink has been used to elevate, humiliate and decorate people since the times of mummies. The Wall Street Journal August 25, 2022 Earlier this month the celebrity couple Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson announced that their nine-month relationship was over. Ms. Kardashian departed with her memories, but Mr. Davidson was left with something a
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Historically Speaking: Passports Haven’t Always Been Liberating

France’s Louis XIV first required international travelers to carry an official document. By the 20th century, most other countries did the same for reasons of national security. The Wall Street Journal August 12, 2022 As anyone who has recently applied for a passport can attest, U.S. passport agencies are still catching up from the pandemic
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Historically Speaking: The Mystical Origins of Wordplay

From oracular riddles to the daily Wordle, humans have always had the urge to decode The Wall Street Journal July 28, 2022 In 2021, a software engineer named Josh Wardle uploaded Wordle, a 5-letter word puzzle, for a few friends and relatives. By February this year, the number of players had jumped to the millions,
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Historically Speaking: The Women Who Have Gone to War

There have been female soldiers since antiquity, but only in modern times have military forces accepted and integrated them The Wall Street Journal July 14, 2022 “War is men’s business,” Prince Hector of Troy declares in Homer’s Iliad, a sentiment shared by almost every culture since the beginning of history. But Hector was wrong. War
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Historically Speaking: The Quest to Understand Skin Cancer

The 20th-century surgeon Frederic Mohs made a key breakthrough in treating a disease first described in ancient Greece. The Wall Street Journal June 30, 2022 July 1 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Dr. Frederic Mohs, the Wisconsin surgeon who revolutionized the treatment of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer in
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Historically Speaking: The Modern Flush Toilet Has Ancient Origins

Even the Minoans of Crete found ways to whisk away waste with flowing water. The Wall Street Journal June 9, 2021 Defecation is a great equalizer. As the 16th-century French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne put it trenchantly in his Essays, “Kings and philosophers shit, as do ladies.” Yet, even if each person is equal before
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Historically Speaking: Inflation Once Had No Name, Let Alone Remedy

Empires from Rome to China struggled to restore the value of currencies that spiraled out of control The Wall Street Journal May 27, 2022 Even if experts don’t always agree on the specifics, there is broad agreement on what inflation is and on its dangers. But this consensus is relatively new: The term “inflation” only
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Historically Speaking: Typos Have Been Around as Long as Writing Itself

Egyptian engravers, medieval scribes and even Shakespeare’s printer made little mistakes that have endured The Wall Street Journal May 12, 2022 The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is 100 years old this month. The beloved national monument is no less perfect for having one slight flaw: The word “future” in the Second Inaugural Address was
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Historically Speaking: When Generals Run the State

Military leaders have been rulers since ancient times, but the U.S. has managed to keep them from becoming kings or dictators. The Wall Street Journal April 29, 2022 History has been kind to General Ulysses S. Grant, less so to President Grant. The hero of Appomattox, born 200 years ago this month, oversaw an administration
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Historically Speaking: The Game of Queens and Grandmasters

Chess has captivated minds for 1,500 years, surviving religious condemnation, Napoleonic exile and even the Russian Revolution The Wall Street Journal April 15, 2022 Fifty years ago, the American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer played the reigning world champion Boris Spassky at the “Match of the Century” in Reykjavik, Iceland. The Cold War was at its
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Historically Speaking: Humanity’s Long Quest to Bottle Energy

The first batteries produced bursts of power. Making them last has been the work of centuries. The Wall Street Journal April 1, 2022 Electric cars were once dismissed as a pipe dream. Now experts predict that by 2025, they will account for one-fifth of all new cars. Helping to drive this revolution is the once-humble
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Historically Speaking: Democracy Helped Seed National Parks

Green spaces and nature preserves have long existed, but the idea of protecting natural wonders for human enjoyment has American roots. The Wall Street Journal March 3, 2022 Yellowstone, the world’s oldest national park, turned 150 this month. The anniversary of its founding is a timely reminder that democracy isn’t just a political system but
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Historically Speaking: Anorexia’s Ancient Roots And Present Toll

The deadly affliction, once called self-starvation, has become much more common during the confinement of the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal February 18, 2022 Two years ago, when countries suspended the routines of daily life in an attempt to halt the spread of Covid-19, the mental health of children plunged precipitously. Two years ago, when
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Historically Speaking: A Mollusk With a Storied Past in Human Seduction

Long associated with Aphrodite, oysters graced the menus of Roman orgies, Gold Rush eateries and Manhattan brothels. The Wall Street Journal February 4, 2021 The oyster is one of nature’s great survivors—or it was. Today it is menaced by the European green crab, which has been taking over Washington’s Lummi Sea Pond and outer coastal
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Historically Speaking: Water Has Long Eluded Human Mastery

From ancient Mesopotamia to the California desert, people have struggled to bend earth’s most plentiful resource to their will The Wall Street Journal January 21, 2022 In “Chinatown,” Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 film noir, loosely based on the events surrounding the diversion of water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles in 1913, an ex-politician
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The Sunday Times: I don’t want to fight about it but this talk of US civil war is overblown

Experts on conflict predict unrest, but America has a long way to go before it is as divided as it was in 1861 The Sunday Times January 9, 2022 Violence is in the air. No one who saw the shocking scenes during the Capitol riot in Washington on January 6, 2021, can pretend that it
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Historically Speaking: How the Waistband Got Its Stretch

Once upon a time, human girth was bound by hooks and buttons, and corsets had metal stays. Along came rubber and a whole new technology of flexible cloth. The Wall Street Journal January 7, 2021 The New Year has arrived, and if you’re like me, you’ve promised yourself a slimmer, fitter and healthier you in
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Historically Speaking: Boycotts that Brought Change

Modern rights movements have often used the threat of lost business to press for progress The Wall Street Journal November 12, 2021 Sixty-five years ago, on Nov. 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Browder v. Gayle, putting an end to racial segregation on buses. The organizers of the Montgomery bus boycott, which had begun
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Historically Speaking: When Masquerade Was All the Rage

Before there was Halloween, there were costume balls and Carnival, among other occasions for the liberation of dressing up The Wall Street Journal October 28, 2021 Costume parades and Halloween parties are back after being canceled last year. Donning a costume and mask to go prancing around might seem like the height of frivolity, but
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Historically Speaking: How Malaria Brought Down Great Empires

A mosquito-borne parasite has impoverished nations and stopped armies in their tracks The Wall Street Journal October 15, 2021 Last week brought very welcome news from the World Health Organization, which approved the first-ever childhood vaccine for malaria, a disease that has been one of nature’s grim reapers for millennia. Originating in Africa, the mosquito-borne
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Historically Speaking: Dante’s Enduring Vision of Hell

The “Inferno” brought human complexity to the medieval conception of the afterlife The Wall Street Journal September 30, 2021 What is hell? For Plato, it was Tartarus, the lowest level of Hades where those who had sinned against the gods suffered eternal punishment. For Jean-Paul Sartre, the father of existentialism, hell was other people. For
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Historically Speaking: For Punishment or Penitence?

Fifty years ago, the Attica uprising laid bare the conflicting ideas at the heart of the U.S. prison system. The Wall Street Journal September 17, 2021 Fifty years ago this past week, inmates in Attica, New York, staged America’s deadliest prison uprising. The organizers held prison employees hostage while demanding better conditions. One officer and
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The Sunday Times: Texas Talibanistas, take note: freedom will win

The blow to abortion rights is shocking, but this fight is nowhere near over The Sunday Times September 7, 2021 The pro-life movement in America finally got its wish this week: a little before midnight on Wednesday, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against temporarily blocking a Texas state law passed in May,
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Historically Speaking: The Long Haul of Distance Running

How the marathon became the world’s top endurance race The Wall Street Journal September 2, 2021 The New York City Marathon, the world’s largest, will hold its 50th race this autumn, after missing last year’s due to the pandemic. A podiatrist once told me that he always knows when there has been a marathon because
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Historically Speaking: A Legacy of Tinderbox Forests

Long before climate change exacerbated the problem, policies meant to suppress wildfires served to fan the flames The Wall Street Journal August 19, 2021 This year’s heat waves and droughts have led to record-breaking wildfires across three continents. The fires in Siberia are so vast that smoke has reached the North Pole for what is
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Historically Speaking: Let Slip the Dogs, Birds and Donkeys of War

Animals have served human militaries with distinction since ancient times The Wall Street Journal August 5, 2021 Cher Ami, a carrier pigeon credited with rescuing a U.S. battalion from friendly fire in World War I, has been on display at the Smithsonian for more a century. The bird made news again this summer, when DNA
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Historically Speaking: Diabetes and the Miracle of Insulin

One hundred years ago, a team of Canadian researchers showed that an age-old disease didn’t have to mean a death sentence. The Wall Street Journal July 22, 2021 The human body runs on glucose, a type of sugar that travels through the bloodstream to the cells where it converts into energy. Some 34.2 million Americans
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Historically Speaking: The Beacon of the Public Library

Building places for ordinary people to read and share books has been a passion project of knowledge-seekers since before Roman times. The Wall Street Journal July 8, 2021 “The libraries are closing forever, like tombs,” wrote the historian Ammianus Marcellinus in 378 A.D. The Goths had just defeated the Roman army in the Battle of
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