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Pop History

Curtis Kauffman with a 1950s Vendo 39 Coke machine—which he has not yet refurbished—at the Route 11 Antique Mall in Hagerstown, Maryland.

When This Restoration Expert Gets His Hands on a Relic, the Result Can Send You Back in Time

At a Maryland antiques mall, Curtis Kauffman takes trinkets from the past and makes them better than ever. For his customers, that’s worth a lot

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An Industrious Grocer in the 1930s Wanted to Make It Easier for His Customers to Buy More. They Just Needed a Push

There was a time when shoppers could buy only as much as they could carry. And as ubiquitous as shopping carts are today, it initially took some convincing to use them

A listener selects “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets on a classic Wurlitzer “bubbler.”  

The Colorful, Scandalous, True History of the Machine That Created American Pop

The jukebox got its start earlier than you might think, but it truly became iconic when rock ‘n’ roll took over in the 1950s

Ian Shaw, Demetri Goritas and Liam Murray Scott perform in The Shark Is Broken during the show's 2021 run in London. Ian Shaw reprises his role on Broadway, playing his father, Robert Shaw, while co-stars Colin Donnell and Alex Brightman play Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss, respectively.

Based on a True Story

‘The Shark Is Broken’ Brings the Making of ‘Jaws’ to Broadway

The play examines the tensions stirring between the film’s three leads as they navigate a chaotic production process

Tony Bennett painting in June 1971

Tony Bennett’s Passion for Art Lives On in His Paintings

Smithsonian curators reflect on the beloved crooner’s legacy as a musician and visual artist

Andy Warhol poses in his studio, The Factory, in Union Square, New York City, on April 12, 1983.

Art Meets Science

Hear an A.I.-Generated Andy Warhol ‘Read’ His Diary to You in New Documentary

An new Netflix television series employs artificial intelligence to recreate the voice of the Pop Star icon

Harriet Jacobs, who escaped enslavement to write Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), created these three dolls for the children of writer Nathaniel Parker Willis around 1850-60. 

History of Now

Black Dolls Tell a Story of Play—and Resistance—in America

A new exhibition traces the toys’ history from handmade cloth figures to an American Girl character

An intercontinental ballistic missile takes flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in 2002. In 1962, the United States would confront the Soviet Union on its missile stockpiles in Cuba, edging the two nations to the brink of nuclear war.

History of Now

‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ Conjures Images of Peace Everywhere—and Nuclear Annihilation

Composed at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the classic Christmas song contains another message—one of unity

Here are 12 of the rarest doo-wop records ever made. “Can’t Help Loving That Girl of Mine” (1954) by Philadelphia’s Hide-A-Ways is, Shively says, the “holy grail of vocal group collecting.”

A Peek Inside the World’s Greatest Record Store

A lovable grouch, obsessed with the magic of American sidewalk harmony, runs the Philadelphia shop

These frames may have been the first pair of iconic round glasses worn by John Lennon.

Fifty Years After the Beatles Broke Up, Trove of Memorabilia Goes on Auction

Sotheby’s sale includes records, posters and a high school detention sheet decrying John Lennon’s “continuous silly behaviour in class”

The original Mary Sue

Pop History

The Women Who Coined the Term ‘Mary Sue’

The trope they named in a ‘Star Trek’ fan zine in 1973 continues to resonate in 2019

At nearly 91, Dr. Ruth is still committed to the cause

Women Who Shaped History

Dr. Ruth Changed the Way America Talked About Sex

A new documentary chronicles the revolution Ruth Westheimer brought to the air

The Impossible Whopper signals the growing market for meatless meat

Pop History

We’re Entering a New Age of Meatless Meat Today. But We’ve Been Here Before

At the turn of the 20th century, the first mock meat craze swept the nation

The National Museum of American History has in its collection this Autoped motor scooter from 1918.

Pop History

The Motorized Scooter Boom That Hit a Century Before Dockless Scooters

Launched in 1915, the Autoped had wide appeal, with everyone from suffragettes to postmen giving it a try

Rod Serling working at his Westport, Connecticut, home in 1956.

Pop History

An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to ‘The Twilight Zone’

His failed attempts to bring the Emmett Till tragedy to television forced him to get creative

Judges Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth, Nina Garcia, and host Karlie Kloss deliberate

Pop History

What ‘Project Runway’ Can Teach Us About the Creative Process

Seventeen seasons in, the show continues to demystify what it takes to ‘make it work’

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in front of a very-'90s strip mall

Pop History

‘Captain Marvel”s Missed Opportunity With Nostalgia

The ‘90s lives in the new superhero film but doesn’t tell us much about the decade

"A New Yorker in the snow this afternoon carrying what seems like ... iced coffee? #OnlyInNYC #BundleUpNY," @nycgov tweeted on January 30.

Pop History

What’s the Deal With Ordering Iced Coffee in the Winter?

A hot take, if you will, on the iced trend

Pop History

Why Is the Genie in ‘Aladdin’ Blue?

There’s a simple answer and a colonialist legacy for why the genie looks the way it does

Pop History

There Was the Magazine Quiz. Then Came the Internet. What Now?

From the “Cosmo Quiz” to Quizilla to Buzzfeed… what’s next?

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