Jordan Friedman

Was Lavinia Fisher America’s First Female Serial Killer? She was executed in February 1820 in front of onlookers.

My latest: Was Lavinia Fisher America’s First Female Serial Killer? (The evidence supporting the claim is scant at best.) www.aetv.com/articles/was...

How America Became Hooked on Protein A 19th-century meat 'extract' was marketed for muscle building.

“Protein products are everywhere—but enthusiasm for the macronutrient was decades in the making.” My latest: www.history.com/articles/pro...

How America Became Hooked on Protein A 19th-century meat 'extract' was marketed for muscle building.

“Protein products are everywhere—but enthusiasm for the macronutrient was decades in the making.” My latest: www.history.com/articles/pro...

A Timeline of Divorce in America In colonial times, divorce was barely an option.

My latest story on HISTORY explores how divorce went from rare to commonplace in America. Read it here: www.history.com/articles/div...

How Timekeeping Innovations Turned New Year's Into a Midnight Celebration | HISTORY Time zones set by the transcontinental railroad drove synchronization of clocks—and the start of celebrating at the s...

Posting for (almost) 2026: Last year, I wrote about how timekeeping innovations and the synchronization of public clocks turned New Year’s into a midnight celebration. Read it here: www.history.com/articles/new...

The 1970s Gave Rise to the American ‘Serial Killer’ Trope John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy helped inspire the term.

My latest for A&E Crime + Investigation: Why the 1970s became what’s often dubbed the “golden age of serial killers” www.aetv.com/articles/the...

The 1977 Hostage Standoff That Gripped the Nation A mortgage dispute escalated into a potentially deadly situation.

My latest: The 1977 Hostage Standoff That Gripped Indianapolis—and the Nation www.aetv.com/articles/197... #TrueCrime

A great few days in Miami Beach! 🏝️ 🌅

Remote control: Meet “the father of telework” Decades before COVID imposed remote work on the world, Jack Nilles pioneered WFH and championed its many benefits.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the mainstream acceptance of remote work—but the idea of “telework” dates back to the early 1970s, when USC research Jack Nilles first proposed the concept and launched his pioneering study. My latest Q&A: bigthink.com/business/rem...

The 1977 Hostage Standoff That Gripped the Nation A mortgage dispute escalated into a potentially deadly situation.

My latest: The 1977 Hostage Standoff That Gripped Indianapolis—and the Nation www.aetv.com/articles/197... #TrueCrime

On a promotional email unsubscribe spree

~and it feels so good~

10/10. Would recommend.

The 1970s Gave Rise to the American ‘Serial Killer’ Trope John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy helped inspire the term.

My latest for A&E Crime + Investigation: Why the 1970s became what’s often dubbed the “golden age of serial killers” www.aetv.com/articles/the...

#Chicago architecture photos from a trip a few weeks back. Loved it there! 🏙️

The President and the Press Corps - JSTOR Daily Theodore Roosevelt was the first White House occupant to seek control over how newspapers covered him.

In my latest article, I explore how Theodore Roosevelt was the first White House occupant to seek control over how newspapers covered him. Read it on JSTOR Daily: daily.jstor.org/the-presiden...

Spot on. #WriterLife

So journalism. #Chicago

Why People Started Living Longer in the Early 20th-Century The period of advances was labeled the Sanitation Revolution.

My latest article explores how U.S. life expectancy soared in the late 1800s. For decades, the average hovered around 40 years—largely due to high child mortality rates. As major public health innovations took hold in major cities, that number climbed rapidly. www.history.com/articles/lif...

Recent fall pics 🍂

Don’t want to leave. 😭 #SanDiego #Vacation

Want.

San Diego vibes ☀️ 🌴

8 Imaginary Places People Once Thought Were Real Legends, lies and guesswork once shaped the world’s cartography.

From Hy Brasil to El Dorado, my latest story for HISTORY dives into 8️⃣ imaginary places people once thought were real. www.history.com/articles/pha...

It’s pants/jacket weather. Ugh.

How the Radium Girls Forced Workplace Safety Reforms They painted with radium-laced paint—and faced dire consequences.

My latest for HISTORY.com. I tell the story of the Radium Girls, who ingested the radioactive element at their jobs as watch dial painters in the 1920s, then sued their employer after facing severe health complications, spurring new safety reforms: www.history.com/articles/rad...

View of Madeira from above 🌴 ☀️

Absolutely loved Madeira. #vacation

When Public Schools Became Vaccine Trial Sites In the mid-20th century, schools were key sites for new vaccines.

Recently published this article on HISTORY.com about how public schools once served as vaccine trial sites—a practice that fizzled out by the late 1900s, for many reasons. Check it out: www.history.com/articles/vac...

Somehow managed not to lose my sunglasses on a 6-day overseas trip, and then left them in the Uber home 🤦🏼‍♂️

Thanks for sharing!