The Magical Furniture of David Roentgen
Cabinetmaker to Marie Antoinette, Roentgen designed “surprise furniture,” bureaus and desks that appeared to magically transform at the push of a button.
The Enduring Drive-In Theater
Even as televisions spread across the American landscape, the drive-in movie theater grew in popularity in the years following World War II.
How Keanu Reeves Radically Rescripts Race
Reeves’s career showcases his transnational mobility as well as a representational flexibility granted by the melding of races, ethnicities, and cultures.
Alexander Calder, Sculptor
Calder was known for both his delicately balanced kinetic sculptures and the massive steel abstractions he designed for public squares around the world.
The History of Peer Review Is More Interesting Than You Think
The term “peer review” was coined in the 1970s, but the referee principle is usually assumed to be as old as the scientific enterprise itself. (It isn’t.)
Why Architects Need Philosophy to Guide the AI Design Revolution
Architecture in the age of AI—argues professor Nayef Al-Rodhan—should embed philosophical inquiry in its transdisciplinary toolkit.
History’s Footnotes
The addition of footnotes to texts by historians began long before their supposed inventor, Leopold von Ranke, started using them (poorly, as it turns out).
Celebrating the Fourth of July
Take a moment to contemplate the history and complexity of Independence Day, American Style.
Burlesque Beginnings
From its nineteenth-century origins, burlesque developed into a self-aware performance art that celebrates the female form and challenges social norms.
In the Mood for “Fake” Music?
In 2017, it was reported that Spotify was promoting fake artists on its platform. But this type of approach to “content creation” wasn’t new.