In light of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the changing political landscape of Europe and the EU, the UN, and NATO, the rise of China, the ever present conflicts in the Middle East, and the always contentious issue of race and politics that both informs and colors our political debates in the U.S. and elsewhere, I thought I would publish here my essay from the revised edition of my book Denying History, originally published in 2000 and updated in 2009. Much of my analysis of topical hot-button issues in 2009 remains relevant today. It reveals to what extent history—what happened in the past—is deeply informed, for better or worse, by the present. (Photos within by the author.)

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Michael Shermer is the Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. His many books include W hy People Believe Weird Things, The Science of Good and Evil, The Believing Brain, The Moral Arc, and Heavens on Earth. His new book is Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.

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