21st Century

Expert history articles and analysis about the global events of the 21st century…

A black and white photo of the American actress Janet Leigh, with a shadow of a chair on the wall behind her. She is looking forwards and screaming in shock.

Ninety years of horror: nine films that reflect society’s changing anxieties. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

(Illustration by Hugh Cowling for BBC History Magazine)

Sportswashing: have nations always used sport to launder their reputations?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on the ongoing legacy of slavery"Slavery’s effects are still working themselves out in our lives today". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Toy Story, starring cowboy Woody

10 milestones in Disney's 100-year history

Steamboat Willie, a mouse at the wheel

Cartoon century: a history of 100 years of Disney. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History Behind the Headlines: China spies, medieval tourism and more. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Is black history still being overlooked?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An apparition on the stairs

Danny Robins' paranormal cold casesThe black monk of Pontefract. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Pupils at a primary school in London

Are black histories still being overlooked?

The striking, surrealism-influenced Radio Times cover shows the transmitter mast at Alexandra Palace

Radio Times at 100: a "vivid running commentary" on a century of British life

An illustration showing a graduate hat sitting on an empty bookshelf

Is history under threat at the UK’s universities?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Hugh Cowling

Artificial intelligence: a modern advance or an ancient nightmare?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How should we see the NHS's history on its 75th anniversary?

Economies in meltdown: lessons from past financial crashes. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian troops, May 2023

Serhii Plokhy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict“Putin’s misreading of history is a major contributing factor in how this war has progressed”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historical echoes of the Ukraine war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Men kiss in a medieval illumination.

Are some LGBTQ histories being overlooked?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

East India Company officer James Tod travels through India in a 19th-century illustration

Opinion“History is currently being used for political purposes that have very little to do with the past”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Prince Charles, aged 4, driving a toy car in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

King Charles IIIA life in pictures

Michael Wood on the coronation of Charles III"The symbolism of the royal promise still means something today". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth II surveys troops in Brisbane, Australia during her 1977 silver jubilee tour. There has been increasing debate about the degree to which documents relating to the royal family should be open to the public (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The royal family and their right to privacy: who should have access to the records?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A protester wearing a star badge at an anti-vaccination rally in Cardiff, 2021. The badge’s design deliberately evokes the star Jewish people were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied territories during the Second World War.

“Many, if not most, Nazi analogies are historically inaccurate”: Richard J Evans on the trouble with comparisons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Fires burn in Baghdad following an attack on the Iraqi capital, March 2003. The motives for the war continue to spark controversy (Photo by Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

“The early 2000s was a strange era of fear and terror”: remembering the Iraq War 20 years on. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How ballroom dancing gripped Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A montage of images, including: Ukrainians in Rome protest against the Russian invasion; 2: Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai- shek (right) in 1949, when he retreated to Taiwan; 3: The future Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, 1950; 4: Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and prime minister Liz Truss, October 2022

2022: The historians’ view. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&AWhy did NORAD begin tracking Santa Claus in the Cold War?

Catherine Nixey, Rana Mitter and Michael Wood, photographed by Fran Monks for BBC History Magazine

"A vintage year for history books": historians choose their best books of 2022. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"Superbly written” story of women’s experiences of slavery wins the 2022 Cundill History Prize

World Cup history: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Argentinian midfielder Mario Kempes celebrates a goal in the 1978 football World Cup final between hosts Argentina and Netherlands

Sportswashing: a historical perspective on a current trend