Scott Mclaughlan

Fossil fuels have underpinned capitalist development since the Industrial Revolution. Despite omnipresent warnings of impending climate catastrophe, they continue to dominate the energy mix that powers the global economy.

Ancient precursors and medieval antecedents aside, the modern passport system was forged in the 1920s to restrict freedom of movement after the First World War.

Max Weber argued that capitalism was deeply influenced by the emergence of a “protestant ethic,” rooted in Calvinist ideas of predestination and the sanctification of disciplined work.

Cold War portrayals of the USSR as a rapacious colonial power seeking to dominate the “free world” were exaggerated. Yet the Soviet Union undeniably engaged in forms of “internal colonialism” that warrant greater acknowledgment.

Alan Lomax was a legendary collector of folk music, author, broadcaster, oral historian, musicologist, and filmmaker who raised the profile of folk music worldwide.

Ota Benga was kidnapped from Congo and brought to America, where he was displayed as an “exhibit” in the Bronx Zoo. His tragic story speaks to the history of European racial ideologies that continue to shape the contemporary world.

The Philosopher’s Stone is a mythical substance said to possess the power to turn common base metals into gold, cure diseases, and bestow eternal life.

The Comintern, short for Communist International, was founded in 1919 to promote the dream of global revolution. It functioned both as an international network for revolutionaries and as a tool for advancing Bolshevik influence.