Culture

Recent years have witnessed a record number of challenges against books, especially in school libraries. But attempts to ban certain books isn't new in the U.S.

Major League Soccer – which starts the 2023 season on Feb. 25 – is deemed the most diverse league in the US. Its predecessor, the NASL, led the way.

During the cold war, football’s violence became precisely its point.

Sing Sing's football team, The Black Sheep, ascended to fame even though its players were incarcerated. One player was so good, he signed with the Eagles.

How modern songwriting evolved into a game of aggressive credit—even for the people who didn’t technically do the composing.

Alec Nevala-Lee’s new biography assesses the complicated legacy of an architect better known for his image than his work.

After Robert Opel dashed naked across the stage in 1974, he ran for President and settled into the gay leather scene.

A century ago, physical fitness was part of a strange subculture, where strong bodies were extraordinary and meant to placed on pedestals for people to observe.

Keaton had been on the stage longest, risen the highest, fallen the furthest, and left the most indelible legacy.

What will be the legacy of the Black Arts Movement? Ishmael Reed reflects on the transformation and growth of Black arts since the 1960s.

The album was once king. Now it’s the live show.

Stephanie St. Clair, who gained notoriety as a criminal entrepreneur and a fashion icon, was a powerful Black woman able to wrest control in a world run by men.

Or maybe it was the cigars that gave us this New Year's Eve staple.

How the crunchy stalks went from Victorian centerpiece to ubiquitous football snack.

The young man went to war and became a novelist. But did he ever really come back?

An 1859 painting by Eastman Johnson depicted enslaved people in a D.C. courtyard. Intended to humanize them, it was coopted by slavery defenders.

Was Mississippi John Hurt really the first person to sing the tragic tale of Louis Collins?

Decades after its release, the haunted highways and haunted characters of the Boss’s largely acoustic masterpiece still haunt the American psyche.

What the surprising career of Bob McGrath teaches us about popular music.

From Bikram yoga to Tae Bo, the 1990s exploded with exoticized consumer fitness products.

The Pointer Sisters, the Great Migration, and the soul of country.

First came the politics of right-wing grievance. Then came the new foodie culture. Together, they combined to create one toxic food fight.

African American fiber artists in San Antonio are challenging revisionist histories through artful storytelling.

People have been drinking eggnog for hundreds of years. Here's where it originated and how it became a traditional holiday drink.

Isabella Stewart Gardner builds a place to house her art.

Published in 1982, 'The Silver Palate Cookbook' taught a generation of American cooks to trust in bold flavors, fresh herbs, and the joys of improvisation.

In Chris Herring’s recent history of the New York basketball team, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the sports commentariat’s fixation on grit and toughness.

Denied the free meals of their Irish counterparts, Chinese laborers learned to thrive on their own.

Johnny Cash wasn't the only superstar to play in prisons. Music, initially allowed as worship, came to be seen as a rockin' tool of rehabilitation.

For all the clouds of publicity, the dream machine is actually a craft business. Have we asked too much of it?