The Fear That Synthesizers Would Ruin Music
A German musicologist complained in 1954 that they reminded him of "barking hell-hounds."
The Great Animation Strike
Animation workers took to the streets, carrying signs with bleakly humorous slogans. One read: “I make millions laugh but the real joke is our salaries.”
The Rowdy Women of Early Modern Theater
There were, in fact, women in the audiences of Shakespeare’s plays. Some came to watch; others to sell their wares; others to get on stage themselves.
Five Green Living Resolutions for 2020
We won't solve all of the pressing environmental problems, but we can help mitigate some.
Why Netflix’s The Witcher Is a Gamble
TV shows based on video games can't capture all the little minutiae that captivate gamers, like the map in the instruction manual.
Editors’ Picks: What We’re Reading
The history of Native resistance, the philosophy of love, the medicalization of madness, color in fairy tales, and dinosaur bones.
The Science of Baby-Name Trends
What makes a name suddenly pop—and then die? Social scientists and historians have been puzzling over this for decades.
How Ghanaian Artists Infused Hollywood with Spirituality
The cinema in 1980s Ghana was DIY. So were the movie posters, now the subject of an exhibition at the Poster House in New York City.
Vulgarity: An Alternative Language of the People
Was Francis Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue the font of all popular culture studies?
The Theatrical Magic of The Christmas Angel
The silent film director Georges Melies made a unique and wonderful Christmas film by borrowing the theatrical techniques of French “feeries.”