culture

The decline of Southern industries paved the way for plantations in Fiji and Australia, where victims of “blackbirding” endured horrific working conditions.

You’ve got one unsung editor to thank for many of your all-time favorite recipes.

In the cultural wasteland of the Reagan era, they showed that a band could have mass appeal without being cheesy, or nostalgic, or playing hair metal.

When polarization lacks clear consequences, Americans are left with "a grin without a cat: a politics with only weak policy influence or institutional ties."

Rising on the lands of an ancient agricultural system, Memphis has a long history of negotiating social conflict and change while singing the blues.

The correspondence of Soviet and American women during the Cold War.

The classic creepy story—a driver offers a lift to a stranger who is not of this world—has deep roots and a long reach.

A military consumed by identity politics threatens the integrity of the republic.

Jeremy Dauber's new book explores the themes and origins of the American horror genre.

Wayfinding through history and design of the cookbook.

On the making of a centuries-old obsession at the heart of American national identity.

Justin B. Wymer knows a snake when he sees one.

How an unlikely American friendship should inspire diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We take for granted the Titians and Botticellis that hang in galleries across the U.S., little aware how and why they were acquired.

In many ways, a world built for cars has made life so much harder for grown-ups.

The essay component of American college applications has a long history, but its purpose has changed over time.

Jewish masculinity and the New York intellectuals.

Nathan Perl-Rosenthal’s book can guide us through turbulent conversations about revolution, social change, and the founding of America.

How one activist helped turn evangelical women into the backbone of right-wing conservatism.

Spiritualists believed that after shedding the body in death, the spirit would continue on a celestial journey and help those on Earth create a more just world.

Why our understanding of the era has been hindered by the party system model.

Henry James, spiritualism, and the afterlife.

On the falsification of Lincoln Center’s history.

The star of the 1920s silver screen who appears on Taylor Swift’s new album abruptly left Hollywood at the height of her success.

How did taxes become something we "do"?

What's in a name? According to the "Dictionary of American Family Names," it depends.

It’s time to start learning about Native history from museums and cultural centers that are run by Native nations.

The US today has extraordinary levels of gun ownership. But to see this as a venerable tradition is to misread history.

Sinclair Lewis and the small-town science of yearning.

Wang Huning and Alexis de Tocqueville’s dark vision of the future.