In World War II America, Female Santas Took the Reins

Rosie the Riveter wasn’t the only woman who pitched in on the homefront.
Title page and verso of the first edition of "A Christmas Carol."

A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories

Though the practice is now more associated with Halloween, spooking out your family is well within the Christmas spirit.

Here's What Benjamin Franklin Scholars Think About Lin-Manuel Miranda's Ode to the Inventor

Fact-checking the lyrics of Miranda's new song.

A Homecoming for Murray Kempton

Looking at the reporter’s life through five houses in Baltimore.

How Superstition and the Opera Gave Birth to Mascots

The dark origins of the first mascots.

The NFL Marketing Ploy That Was Too Successful For The League’s Own Good

For decades, the NFL has used patriotism to advance its interests. Now fans expect it to be something it never was.

In Memory of Otis Redding and His Revolution

The legacy of the talented singer, songwriter, and producer who died at age twenty-six.
Otis Redding

Inside Otis Redding's Final Masterpiece '(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay'

Co-writer Steve Cropper and other collaborators take a new look back at the legendary song, recorded just weeks before the singer’s tragic 1967 death.

How Hoop Skirts Actually Advanced Women's Rights

The difficult-to-wear skirt helped to break down class barriers.

#MeToo? In 80 years, No American Woman Has Won Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ by Herself

The history of Time's 'Person of the Year' exemplifies the problem that led to this year's winner.

Uncola: Seven-Up, Counterculture and the Making of an American Brand

Advertisements for the soft drink presented it as a soda revolution.
Atticus Finch and children at the diningroom table in the film "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Prop and Property

The house in American cinema, from the plantation to Chavez Ravine.
Game board with squares about life events.

Board Games Were Indoctrination Tools for Christ, Then Capitalism

The very weird tale of how American board games used to teach you how to get to heaven, and later, how to make bank.

Mark Twain’s Disturbing Passion for Collecting Young Girls

In his later years, the famous writer surrounded himself with a bevy of adoring adolescents.

The Real Refugees of Casablanca

When it came to gathering refugees, the waiting room of the US consulate was probably the closest thing to Rick’s Café Américain.
family Thanksgiving meal

The Dark and Divisive History of America’s Thanksgiving Hymn

How a beloved song with origins in 16th-century Europe captures both a holiday's spirit of unity and a country's legacy of exclusion.

Diagrams from Dr. Alesha Sivartha’s Book of Life

An enigmatic 1898 work about the progress of man.

Where Does Your Tofurky Come From?

The first frozen Tofurky meal was a hard sell with retailers and a mad success with the customers who managed to find it.
Sketch of a mother carrying a large platter while children around her run and cheer.

A Backlash Against 'Mixed' Foods Led to the Demise of a Classic American Dish

In the 19th century, puddings were as popular and widespread as pasta dishes are today.
Botanical drawing of a pumpkin, curubita pepo.

A Brief History of Pumpkin Pie in America

One obvious change occurred at around the turn of the 19th century, when the rapid expansion of the canning industry brought canned pumpkin to every market.

What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?

One film fan's struggle to reconcile the things she loves with the things she knows to be true.
Caroline and Charles Ingalls

Little House, Small Government

How Laura Ingalls Wilder’s frontier vision of freedom and survival lives on in Trump’s America.

The Kids Of Bowery's Hardcore 'Matinee,' Then And Now

Drew Carolan captured the mien of a subculture centered on midafternoon expressions of anger and community.

The Rope: The Forgotten History of Segregated Rock & Roll Concerts

The Platters, the Flamingos, and other pioneering performers share stories of divided audiences and harrowing violence.

Why A 19th Century American Slave Memoir Is Becoming A Bestseller In Japan's Bookstores

Why "Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl" by Harriet Ann Jacobs (1861), became a hit in Japan when it was published there in 2013.

5 Facts That Help Us Understand the World of Early American Yoga

100 years ago, it was associated more with the mystical practices of the Orient than with middle-class women in stretchy pants.

The Secret Feminist History of Brown Paper Bags

Tracing the connection between a ubiquitous paper product and the women’s liberation movement.

The Magic Mountain of Yiddish

Jacob Glatstein’s 1930s Yiddish novel ‘Homecoming at Twilight’ foresaw the coming doom.

Zora Neale Hurston: “A Genius of the South”

John W. W. Zeiser reviews Peter Bagge's graphic biography "Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story."

How John Wayne Became a Hollow Masculine Icon

The actor’s persona was inextricable from the toxic culture of Cold War machismo.