“It’s Tight Like That”
A "dirty" song recorded by Georgia Tom and Tampa Red in 1928 launched the "hokum" blues.
Gay Mass Consumption Before Stonewall
In the 1960s, the Mattachine Society had only a few thousand members. But tens of thousands of men subscribed to physique magazines published by gay entrepreneurs.
Kwame Brathwaite Showed the World that Black is Beautiful
Photographing everyone from musicians to athletes to the person on the street, Brathwaite found the beauty in Blackness and shared it with the world.
Monique Truong’s The Book of Salt
Centered on the Stein-Toklas household and written from the point of view of their gay Vietnamese cook, Binh, this novel tells a story of converging queer diasporas.
Tape Heads
The Mellotron, an electronic keyboard of recorded samples, heralded the digital age, and its use in “Strawberry Fields Forever” changed pop music history.
Martha Graham’s Night Journey
Reinterpreting the Greek tragedy, Graham built a choreography of dramatic, angular movements to embody the female experience, past and present.
The Enduring Appeal of Architect Geoffrey Bawa
Bawa's global travels helped him to create buildings and landscapes that are inextricably linked to Sri Lankan sensibilities and craftsmanship.
The Media’s Bottom-Line Problem
The health of our democracy depends on a free press. What happens when the thirst for profits, eyeballs, and clicks drives political coverage?
The Accidental Nature Preserve of the DMZ
The 1952 Korean War armistice set up a demilitarized zone between North Korea and South, inadvertently creating a critical nature sanctuary.
What Makes Foxes So Fantastic?
In stories from around the world, foxes offer rewards or punishments to humans, play tricks on their fellow animals, and sometimes transform into foxy ladies.