• If an Anne Boleyn portrait is really Elizabeth I, there's a good reason

  NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Tudor historian Owen Emmerson about his theory that the face in a famous portrait of Anne Boleyn is actually that of her daughter, Elizabeth I.

  • Sarah Handel

• The legacy of Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' on its 250th anniversary

  250 years after Thomas Paine published 'Common Sense', what can we learn from the revolutionary work today?

  • Sarah Robbins
• 

  Edith Renfrow Smith, pioneer and witness to history, dies at 111

  Last year, for Black History Month, NPR's Scott Simon spoke with Edith Renfrow Smith of Chicago, who has died at 111 years old.

  • Scott Simon

• Discovery helps scientists understand the prehistoric roots of human cremation

  Archaeologists say they've unexpectedly found a huge Stone Age cremation pyre in southern-central Africa. The discovery is helping them understand the history of cremation.

  • Nell Greenfieldboyce
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  The history behind the NYC subway station chosen for Mamdani's swearing-in

  The city shut down the station in 1945 on New Year's Eve. Eighty years later, it's a symbolic venue choice for the incoming mayor's private swearing-in ceremony.

  • Emma Bowman
• 

  Why do we make New Year's resolutions? A brief history of a long tradition

  One of the earliest mentions of New Year's resolutions appeared in a Boston newspaper in 1813. But the practice itself can be traced back to the Babylonians.

  • Rachel Treisman
• 

  Who — and what — Seattle and Washington lost in 2025

  Seattle and Washington state endured their share of losses in 2025, from the Mariners falling just short of their first World Series appearance to devastating December floods that left many without homes and thousands without power. As we get ready for 2026, it's worth taking stock of what we left behind in 2025.

  • Stephen Howie
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  Why do so many people ring in the new year on Jan. 1?

  Much of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII, who put the finishing touches on a Roman system that integrated ideas from other cultures.

  • Ayana Archie

• The day the guns fell silent

  In 2014, on the 100th anniversary of the World War I Christmas Truce, former All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro set out to reconstruct the events of that day.

  • Ari Shapiro
• 

  How cozy Yuletide traditions got their start with raging parties and animal sacrifice

  Today, people consider "Yule" synonymous with "Christmas." But centuries ago, Yule meant something different — a pagan mid-winter festival, dating back to pre-Christian Germanic people.

  • Natalie Escobar

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