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Christmas in the Space Age: Looking Back at the Wild Designs of Mid-20th-Century Holidays

There are two critical periods for Christmas. One is the Victorian era. The other is the 1960s.
by Sarah Archer, Todd Vanderwerff via Vox on November 25, 2016

The Call of the Billboard

The roadside battle for people’s attention has been raging for more than a century.
by Erica Berry via The Atlantic on July 7, 2016

Walt Whitman—Patriotic Poet, Gay Iconoclast, or Shrewd Marketing Ploy?

Americans tend to think of Walt Whitman as the embodiment of democracy and individualism, but have you ever considered Walt Whitman, the brand?
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on May 3, 2016
A drawing from a 1908 cookbook of an aspargus shortcake, a savory cake made with leftover aspargus and topped with hardboiled eggs.

An Economic History of Leftovers

Americans’ enthusiasm for reheating last night’s dinner has faded as the nation has prospered.
by Helen Zoe Veit via The Atlantic on October 7, 2015
A collage of processed food, including Tang, a frozen dinner, Spam, and Jello, over an image of Spaghettios.

SpaghettiOs and the Age of Processed Foods

After World War II, canned foods became more and more common, along with a smorgasbord of pre-prepared, processed foods such as SpaghettiOs.
by Aaron George via Origins on May 12, 2015

A Brief History of the ATM

How automation changed retail banking.
by Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo via The Atlantic on March 26, 2015
Santa with sack of toys atop chimney
partner

Naughty & Nice: A History of the Holiday Season

Tracing the evolution of Christmas from a drunken carnival to the peaceful, family-oriented, consumeristic ritual we celebrate today.
via BackStory on December 26, 2014
A bearded man dressed as a lumberjack with an axe resting on his shoulder.

Lumbersexuality and Its Discontents

One hundred years ago, a crisis in urban masculinity created the lumberjack aesthetic. Now it's making a comeback.
by Willa Brown via The Atlantic on December 10, 2014

So Long, Shaker Pint: The Rise and Fall of America's Awful Beer Glass

How the entire U.S. came to drink out of a vessel never meant for human lips.
by Laura Bliss via CityLab on September 24, 2014
Southdale mall

How the Cold War Shaped the Design of American Malls

America's first mall was designed as an insular utopia, providing shelter and a controlled environment during uncertain times.
by Marni Epstein-Mervis via Curbed on June 11, 2014

Losing Ourselves in Holiday Windows

Nostalgia has always been harnessed or packaged to sell things.
by Hunter Oatman-Stanford via Collectors Weekly on December 20, 2013

Retail Therapy

What our mannequins say about us.
by Hunter Oatman-Stanford via Collectors Weekly on December 6, 2013

The Huge Chill: Why Are American Refrigerators So Big?

From iceboxes to stainless steel behemoths: An Object Lesson.
by Jonathan Rees via The Atlantic on October 4, 2013
Illustration of angry communist with caption "Primer for Free Men."

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill

History books are rewritten to focus on the underdog. Surely that is a victory for the common people...or is it?
by Stephen Duncombe via The Baffler on January 13, 2013
Ice cubes.
partner

The Ice King

The story of the man who introduced ice cubes into our beverages.
via BackStory on August 17, 2012
Quartzite, Nevada

Tales of Desert Nomads

Tracing the long strange trip of the American Southwest, from military camels to retirees in RVs.
by Robert Sumrell, Kazys Varnelis via Cabinet on March 20, 2006

The Ketchup Conundrum

Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same?
by Malcolm Gladwell via The New Yorker on September 6, 2004
Two bikers ride through the desert in Easy Rider, a 1969 film.

See America First

Two movies, 'Easy Rider' and 'Alice's Restaurant,' reveal the ideals of counterculture and act as vehicles for social commentary.
by Ellen Willis via New York Review of Books on January 2, 1970
Patent illustrations for an early guarded razor for shaving.

A History of…Shaving

Pretty much anything was better than injecting acid into hair follicles.
by Paul Lenz via Histories on November 14, 2025
Atlantic Monthly title page from the 1850s.

Doomscrolling in the 1850s

"The Atlantic" was born in an era of information overload.
by Jake Lundberg via The Atlantic on November 13, 2025
Italian designer Giorgio Armani.

Why Italian Americans Loved Armani

With sumptuous fabric and big shoulder pads, 'King Giorgio' draped us in an outsized identity.
by Deirdre Clemente via Zócalo Public Square on October 8, 2025
Covers of editions of "The Best American Poetry."

Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’

As "The Best American Poetry" anthology ends after nearly forty years, the contradictions of its influence stand out.
by Nick Sturm via Defector on September 30, 2025
Efka Pyramiden cigarette papers in a green packaging sleeve made in Nazi Germany.
partner

Papering Over History

Efka—the German rolling paper company—was a Nazi regime favorite. After World War II, it was refashioned as a darling of the pot-infused counterculture.
by Alexandra M. Lord, Robert M. Ehrenreich via JSTOR Daily on September 24, 2025
A copy of Billboard features an image of Michael Jackson on the cover.

Bring Back Recurrents

How a decision sparked by the death of one of the world’s biggest pop stars knocked the Billboard 200 out of alignment.
by Ernie Smith via Tedium on August 1, 2025
Mike Davis

The Marxism of Mike Davis

On the life, influences, and “sophisticated yet lucid brand of Marxism” of the late, great writer.
by Nelson Lichtenstein via Jacobin on July 31, 2025
World Trade Center towers burning on 9/11.

The Righteous Community: Legacies of the War on Terror

A new book traces how "the wet dream of an ageing militarist has become a fundamental force driving American foreign policy."
by Jackson Lears via London Review of Books on July 24, 2025
Claire McCardell

It Has Pockets!

How Claire McCardell changed women’s fashion.
by Julia Turner via The Atlantic on July 1, 2025
Abstract painting depicts faces staring at each other from either end of the canvas.

Bridging the Gap

A new book portrays five American historians who published popular books that sacrificed neither intellectual depth nor political bite.
by Michael Kazin via New York Review of Books on June 5, 2025
City workers get their lunch at the Horn & Hardart automat in New York City, ca 1940.

Choice and Its Discontents

Today no one on either side of the political spectrum would present themselves as an enemy of choice. Sophia Rosenfeld exposes the complex legacy of this idea.
by Sophia Rosenfeld, Daniel Falcone via Jacobin on April 22, 2025
Egg yolk spilling from crushed egg shell

It’s Weird That Eggs Were Ever Cheap

What were we thinking, buying so many of these fragile, messy, remarkable ovals? Get used to high egg prices, it was a miracle they were low in the first place.
by Annie Lowrey via The Atlantic on February 27, 2025
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