Open-source intelligence (OSINT) collections from Readex—featuring more than 12.5 million content items beginning in 1939—offer an unprecedented view into real-time history in its first draft. These digitized OSINT resources provide valuable insights for students and researchers studying the 20th century across all academic disciplines—adding depth and perspective to our historical understanding.
OSINT is the collection and analysis of data gathered from publicly-available information sources to produce actionable intelligence. OSINT is primarily used in national security contexts to monitor and assess foreign and domestic threats. OSINT also plays a central role in the development of government policy across the globe.
Today, historical OSINT is used by researchers to interpret critical events of the past as well as social trends, economic indicators, technological and scientific breakthroughs, public opinion, and more.
OSINT sources of the 20th century include:
- Radio broadcasts (beginning in the 1930s and the principal medium of most 20th-century OSINT)
- Television broadcasts (beginning in the 1950s)
- Journals covering the hard and soft sciences
- Government documents and specialty monographs
- Reports of various kinds, especially from NGOs
- Newspaper articles
- Reference sources
