Culture

With Diner, Barry Levinson turned a film about nothing into a male-bonding classic, launched careers, and spawned hits from Seinfeld to The Office.

John Adams would not be happy to see what Independence Day has become.

Stowe’s novel shifted public opinion about slavery so dramatically that it has often been credited with fuelling the war that destroyed the institution.

The Popular Front and American culture.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's biographer considers her life and how personal tragedy underpinned the creation of her most famous work.

What are the origins of the mechanical siren?

It crops up in our speech dozens of times every day, although it apparently means little. So how did "OK" conquer the world?

Halloween's most iconic candy (and its most polarizing) used to be a year-round snack. Then came the candy corn explosion.

The interconnected circles of writers, painters, muses, and more.

An intellectual history.

The story of the legendary pitcher and his 1970 drug-fueled no-hitter.

The persistent inflow of Hispanic immigrants threatens to divide the US into two peoples, two cultures, and two languages.

The tale of the long forgotten Joseph Jefferson, who revolutionized character acting in 19th century American theater.

How a cartoon gamine midwifed the graphic novel—and the modern conservative movement.

The origins of Chinese-American dishes, and the spots where these two cultures have combined to form a new cuisine.

Cybex fitness equipment fills gyms around the world. Where did it come from?

A food writer's reminiscences of local cuisine in the springtime.

"On the Road" is a sad and somewhat self-consciously lyrical story about loneliness, insecurity, and failure. It’s also a story about guys who want to be with other guys.

The making of “Blonde on Blonde” in Nashville, Tennessee.

What Milton Bradley started.

Vincent Carretta takes a look at the remarkable life of the first ever African-American woman to be published.

A conversation with food historian Andrew F. Smith on his new book, "The Turkey: An American Story."

Without the bawdy world of Falstaff and Prince Hal and of Shakespeare’s jesters, there would have been nothing for those dissenting Puritans to dissent from.

How did the plain green lawn become the central landscaping feature in America, and what is the ecological cost?

American art and the Cold War.

The evolution of the iconic smiley face and some of its not so happy connotations.

Athletes who helped shape our times and the economic freedom that enabled them.

Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same?

Guthrie challenged the commercial aesthetic of the pre-rock era through a performance style that was almost combatively anti-musical.

"The Essential Willie Nelson" compilation demonstrates the continuity of Nelson's style across a variety of musical genres.