Rebecca Onion 4/29/16 Rebecca Onion 4/29/16

Andrew Jackson’s Adopted Creek Son

The story of Lyncoya. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 4/5/16 Rebecca Onion 4/5/16

A Hamilton Skeptic Speaks

Q&A with Lyra Monteiro, one of the first to break consensus over Lin Manuel-Miranda’s beloved musical. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 3/31/16 Rebecca Onion 3/31/16

The Art of the New Deal

History of the contested 1932 Democratic convention. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 3/5/16 Rebecca Onion 3/5/16

Founding Fathers on Tumblr

The anatomy of a fandom. For New York Magazine’s Select All blog

Rebecca Onion 2/29/16 Rebecca Onion 2/29/16

The Deadly Accuracy of The Witch

On Robert Eggers’ horror film. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 1/18/16 Rebecca Onion 1/18/16

America’s Other Original Sin

Essay on new histories of Native American slavery. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 1/6/16 Rebecca Onion 1/6/16

Is History Written About Men, by Men?

Analysis of authorship of recently published popular history, with Andrew Kahn. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 12/23/15 Rebecca Onion 12/23/15

Who Was Hugh Glass?

Essay on the tellings and retellings of Glass’ biography. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 12/8/15 Rebecca Onion 12/8/15

What If?

Essay on counterfactuals in history, for Aeon Magazine

Rebecca Onion 6/1/15 Rebecca Onion 6/1/15

Podcast on the History of American Slavery

Limited series with cohost Jamelle Bouie. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 5/28/15 Rebecca Onion 5/28/15

Boyhood

On the archive of the 19th-century Nelson Brothers. For Slate

Rebecca Onion 5/19/15 Rebecca Onion 5/19/15

Against Generations

Essay on the idea of generations. For Aeon Magazine

Rebecca Onion 2/15/15 Rebecca Onion 2/15/15

You Know Who Else Made Jokes About Hitler?

Interview with historian Gavriel Rosenfeld about Hitler humor online. For the Boston Globe

Rebecca Onion 12/14/14 Rebecca Onion 12/14/14

Historians: Go Big or Go Home!

An essay on two historians’ attempt to write Big History. For the Boston Globe

Rebecca Onion 10/6/14 Rebecca Onion 10/6/14

On Letters of Note

Essay on the Letters of Note project and the Internet’s idea of history. For the Virginia Quarterly Review

Rebecca Onion 9/8/14 Rebecca Onion 9/8/14

Lock Up Your Wives!

Feature on the Ladies’ Home Journal column “Can This Marriage Be Saved.” For Aeon Magazine

Rebecca Onion 7/1/14 Rebecca Onion 7/1/14

Honey, You’re Scaring the Kids

Essay on 1980s children and their fears of the Bomb. For The Appendix

Rebecca Onion 3/9/14 Rebecca Onion 3/9/14

How Grand Hotels Shaped Modern Life

Essay on a lost tradition. For the Boston Globe

Rebecca Onion 7/28/13 Rebecca Onion 7/28/13

The Fantastical Allure of the Space Whale

Essay on space whales and seventies culture. For Lapham’s Quarterly

© 2026 rebecca onion