Historians Seek Release of Rosenberg Grand Jury Records
A coalition of historians is petitioning a federal court in New York to release sealed grand jury records from the 1951 indictment of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and executed in 1953.
The Rosenberg case, a crucible of atomic secrets, American communism, Soviet spying, U.S. counterespionage, and more, remains a landmark in the history of the Cold War. But after decades of debate and disclosure, some of the basic records of the case still remain inaccessible. The historians’ initiative aims to change that.
The National Security Archive, one of the petitioners, has published the petition along with a diverse collection of declarations here.
In recent months, we’ve seen much of these decades’ worth of progress erased. Contracts for evaluations of government programs were canceled, FFRDCs have been forced to lay off staff, and federal advisory committees have been disbanded.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.
tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.