December 23, 2014
A Brief History of Bad Santa
Once a symbol of all that was cheerful and good, the many faces of Santa have not always shared his loving spirit.
Read MoreRoundtable
Opinions and analysis from Lapham’s Quarterly writers and editors.
July 19, 2025
December 17, 2014
Sex, Swordfights, and Secrets
In episodes two and three, Marco Polo takes more than a few historical liberties.
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December 15, 2014
Keeping Up with the Khans
Netflix’s Marco Polo chronicles the adventures of the Renaissance traveler. But does the TV epic do its historical figures justice?
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December 10, 2014
More Noble Exercise
Don’t blame the Protestant work ethic on the Protestants. Jonathan Edwards, for one, just wanted some time off.
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December 08, 2014
The Wee Hours
For centuries, a night’s sleep was interrupted by a brief waking period: a time to think, catch up on the mending, have sex, or get into trouble.
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December 08, 2014
Royal Pains
As Will and Kate touch down in New York, a look back at the first royal visit to America and the FDR-appointed ambassador who let no bath towel be overlooked.
Read MoreDecember 02, 2014
The Most Punctual Man in India
The watch never left his side. It was the first thing Gandhi reached for when he rose each morning at 4 a.m., and the last thing he checked before going to bed, often past midnight. He consulted it frequently through the day so as never to be late for an appointment. And, at that final moment, when three bullets from an assassin’s Beretta knocked him over, his 78-year-old body slumped to the ground, and the watch also stopped.
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November 20, 2014
When the Clocks Stop
Henri Bergson’s fight against time or: how I learned to stop, kill, and save time while working at a watch shop.
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November 13, 2014
The Truth About Time
Every era has its own time-truthers, those who insist that through careful manipulation, minutes and seconds as we know them can be altered or even erased.
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August 07, 2023
Monumental Mistakes
2023:
Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.
c. 1850:
Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.
May 22, 2023
Revolutionary Lovebirds
2023:
Writers on strike search for romance at the picket line.
c. 1945:
Young communists engage in party matchmaking.