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Television

Ukraine's Jamala (right) at the press conference after she won Eurovision 2016 with "1944."

The Eurovision Song Contest Rocks Europe This Week. Here’s How It All Got Started

It was the idea of the European Broadcasting Union, who wanted to put the relatively new technology of television through its paces

The canned precooked meat product is significantly less ubiquitous than its digital counterpart.

People Have Been Email-Spamming Since the Dawn of (Internet) Time

This is why we can’t have nice things

On set with Amybeth

A ‘Breaking Bad’ Writer and Producer Is Behind a New Anne of Green Gables

You might not recognize this Anne—and that’s exactly what showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett intended

A Paean to PBS’ “Mercy Street”: The One Show That Got the Civil War Right

The short-lived show offered the best screen portrayal of the war the country has ever seen

Albrecht Dittrich as a student, just a few years before he came to the U.S. under the name Jack Barsky as a KGB spy.

How a KGB Spy Defected and Became a U.S. Citizen

Jack Barsky wanted to stay in the country, so he let the Soviets think he was dead

The old Simpsons "haunted" the family house in a 2014 Halloween episode

The Simpson Family Made Its Television Debut 30 Years Ago

When they arrived on the Tracey Ullman show, their look was a little more ragged

Julia and her doll, Fluffster.

Sesame Street to Introduce Julia, a Muppet with Autism

Some characters are confused by Julia’s behavior, but they come to embrace her differences

Mr. Darcy as depicted in a tailored blue Regency-styled suit.

Meet the Historically Accurate Mr. Darcy

A team of experts on fashion and social culture offer their take on Jane Austen’s brooding hero

The legendary Mary Tyler Moore

Remembering Mary Tyler Moore and Her Groundbreaking Sitcom That Almost Wasn’t

The iconic entertainer died today. She was 80 years old

The final title card for Guiding Light.

TV’s Longest-Running Soap Opera Was First Broadcast 80 Years Ago

Guiding Light had over 15,700 episodes between radio and television

Ask Smithsonian

Why Were Electric Cars Once Advertised as ‘Ladies’ Cars’?

Your questions answered by our experts

President Harry S. Truman, addressing Americans by radio in 1945.

We Can Thank Harry Truman for TV Politics

Truman was the first president to regularly appear on television

Souvenir Disneyland scrapbook with Frontierland’s iconic symbols from 1955

How Disney Came to Define What Constitutes the American Experience

The entertainment company has been in the business of Americana since its inception

An unidentified Hanna-Barbera Productions painter works on an animation cel of Fred Flintstone. THE FLINTSTONES and all related characters and elements © & ™ Hanna-Barbera. (s16)

Cool Finds

Meet the Men Behind Saturday Morning’s Most Memorable Cartoons

Zoinks! Hanna-Barbera once dominated kids’ Saturday schedules

Photo of Olivia de Havilland (left), Leslie Howard (center) and Vivien Leigh (right) from Gone With The Wind.

Why Do We Love Period Dramas So Much?

Gone With The Wind, the highest-grossing period drama ever, premiered on this day in 1939

"I try to go into the personal stuff because I really believe that’s the most universal," says Aziz Ansari.

American Ingenuity Awards

With “Master of None,” Aziz Ansari Has Created a True American Original

The star of the breakout television series brings the voice of his generation to the masses

New Research

American TV Watchers Spend Over a Year of Their Life Channel Surfing

As options of shows and ways to watch them increase, so does the time it takes to find something to watch

Walter Cronkite in 1985, four years after he retired from a 44-year-long career in television broadcasting.

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Walter Cronkite

Over four decades of TV broadcasting, “Uncle Walter” defined a nation’s news

Listening to Norman Lear tell his stories is to hear the last 100 years.

Norman Lear Talks Art, Activism and the 2016 Election

For the famed showrunner, TV has always been a chance to make the political personal

New Research

Pediatricians Switch Up Screen Time Rules for Tots

Doctors say there’s no “one size fits all” approach to introducing kids to technology

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