Dan Rather

Dan Rather on Dan Rather

Dan Rather's ruminations on politics and morality feel so 2017. This interview he gave in the '70s lends insight into how seriously he takes journalism.
70s Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

In 1942, William Moulton Marston wrote an incredibly charming essay in defense of comics, and describing how he created Wonder Woman.
Moana Maui

The Polynesian Origin Myths Behind Disney’s Moana

Like Disney’s Moana? Learn about the Polynesian origin myths Disney consulted to create the demigod character Maui, played by Dwane “The Rock” Johnson.
Jack Barry, Charles Van Doren and Vivienne Nearing

How Academics Fell In and Out of Love with TV Quiz Shows

In the 1950s, the world went quiz-show crazy. But something was rotten inside Hollywood—the shows were packed with ringers.
Rita Hayworth

The Making of Rita Hayworth

To become a Hollywood star and icon, Rita Hayworth had to transcend not just her waistline or her hairline, but her own ethnicity.
Screenshot of the film "It's a Wonderful Life"

The FBI Goes to the Movies

In its hunt for communists in Hollywood, the FBI criticized the 1946 classic It's "A Wonderful Life" as subversive propaganda.
13 Reasons Why

Can Fiction Really Spark Suicide?

The Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why is so powerful—and so controversial—it's sparked a national debate about teenage suicide.
An outdoor film festival in Guadalajara, Mexico

Mexican-Americans Have Always Battled Movie Stereotypes

Stereotyping and discrimination in Hollywood has elicited different responses from Mexican-Americans and Mexicans in Mexico.
brass sundial

Sundials, Sentiments, and S-Town

The immensely popular podcast S-Town features some memorable sundial inscriptions. But where did the slightly morbid tradition come from?
drive-in theater

Why Drive-Ins Were More Than Movie Theaters

Drive-ins embodied the suburbanization of middle class families -- and created an entirely new way of watching the movies.