Motown Turns 50
For years, the recording industry excluded black artists. Along came Motown, and suddenly everyone was singing its tunes
September 29, 2009 |
By Marian Smith Holmes
Lester Young Turns 100
Billie Holiday’s favorite musician, jazz great Lester “Prez” Young brought a hip, freewheeling sensibility to his saxophone playing
August 25, 2009 |
By Jamie Katz
Charles Atlas: Muscle Man
How the original 97-pound-weakling transformed himself and brought physical fitness to the masses
August 2009 |
By Jonathan Black
A New Taste of Hemingway’s Moveable Feast
The re-edited version of Ernest Hemingway’s Paris-based memoir sheds new light on the heartbreaking breakup of his first marriage
July 27, 2009 |
By Chloë Schama
50 Years of Pantyhose
Love them or hate them, the once-ubiquitous women’s accessory was a revolutionary invention that helped transform women’s fashion
July 08, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
The Ultimate Spy Plane
The SR-71 Blackbird, now featured in the Transformers movie sequel, was faster than a rifle bullet and flew 16 miles above the earth
July 2009 |
By Owen Edwards
Frank Baum, the Man Behind the Curtain
The author of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, traveled many paths before he found his Yellow Brick Road
June 26, 2009 |
By Chloë Schama
Alice Ramsey's Historic Cross-Country Drive
In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Ramsey made history as the first woman to drive across the United States
June 05, 2009 |
By Marina Koestler Ruben
The Triumph of Frank Lloyd Wright
The Guggenheim Museum, turning 50 this year, showcases the trailblazer's mission to elevate American society through architecture
June 2009 |
By Arthur Lubow
Herman Leonard’s Eye for Jazz
In the 1940s and 50s, photographer Herman Leonard captured icons of the jazz world, including Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
May 07, 2009 |
By Lucinda Moore
Finding Feisty Fungi in Antarctica
In a place where no one believed they existed–-treeless Antartica–wood fungi are feasting on polar exploration relics
May 2009 |
By Emily Stone
Edward Steichen: In Vogue
A painter by training, Edward Steichen changed fashion photography forever
May 2009 |
By Owen Edwards
Cowboys and Immigrants
Two dueling archetypes dominated 20th-century American politics. Is it time for them to be reconciled?
May 2009 |
By Lance Morrow
The Kentucky Derby’s Forgotten Jockeys
African American jockeys once dominated the track. But by 1921, they had disappeared from the Kentucky Derby
April 24, 2009 |
By Lisa K. Winkler
Searching for a Mother-in-Law Sandwich
Eager enthusiasts track Chicago’s indigenous—and sometimes endangered—food traditions
April 20, 2009 |
By Jamie Katz
Benny Goodman's Clarinet
Late in his career, jazz musician Benny Goodman favored a Parisian “licorice stick” as his instrument of choice
April 2009 |
By Owen Edwards
Who Discovered the North Pole?
A century ago, explorer Robert Peary earned fame for discovering the North Pole, but did Frederick Cook get there first?
April 2009 |
By Bruce Henderson
Buckle Up Your Seatbelt and Behave
Do we take more risks when we feel safe? Fifty years after we began using the three-point seatbelt, there's a new answer
April 2009 |
By William Ecenbarger
Who Discovered Machu Picchu?
Controversy swirls as to whether an archaeologist's claim to fame as the discoverer of Machu Picchu has any merit
March 2009 |
By Peter Eisner
Endangered Site: Centennial Baptist Church
Built by a self-taught black architect, the Arkansas church has hosted leaders in the black community for over a century
March 2009 |
By Marian Smith Holmes
