Cultural History

A Tour of the Belasco Theatre

by Mariah Fredericks

It’s always wonderful when a novel becomes a cheap excuse to do a deep dive into a subject near and dear to your heart. When researching Death of a Showman, the fourth Jane Prescott mystery, I was … Read the article

An Uncensored History of the ’80s Hard Rock Explosion

by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock

Hard rock in the 1980s was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated—and maybe even helped to define—a spectacularly over-the-top decade. The following photos reflect some of the most … Read the article

Calling All Baseball Fans: Books to Read for Opening Day

By The History Reader

Major League Baseball’s Opening Day has long been a symbol of rebirth for baseball fans, a day where the previous season’s slate is wiped clean as records reset to 0-0. From the first Opening Day on

Here’s the Catch: Pathway to the Majors

By Ron Swoboda

In Here’s the Catch, right fielder Ron Swoboda tells the story of the Mets’ miraculous 1969 World Series win, the incredible season leading up to that moment, the people he played with and against (sometimes at the … Read the article

Celebrating Women’s History Month in 2021

by The History Reader

In 1981, Congress declared the week of March 7th as “Women’s History Week.” This was between second and third-wave feminism, so people did not think one week was enough. After many petitions, Congress officially dedicated the

Celebrating Black History Month in 2021

by The History Reader

Black History Month was originally created half a century after the abolition of slavery in order to celebrate the history and the people of Africa that were deemed influential. It was not officially recognized until 1976

The Transformation of Christmas

by Judith Flanders

While Christmas has transformed itself over the centuries, from a time for the nobility to display their wealth to their dependents, to a time for adults to enjoy what little extra they could gather, to a festival … Read the article

John Lennon: Historic Man of the People and the Pied Piper of the Sixties Peace Movement

by Ken McNab

When the swirling crosscurrents of music and politics collide, a powerful social maelstrom is often left in its wake. In 1969, American rock ‘n’ roll staggered towards the end of an era which the literary critic … Read the article

Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America

by Michael Eric Dyson

In 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy sought out James Baldwin to explain the rage that threatened to engulf black America. In What Truth Sounds Like, Michael Eric Dyson draws lessons from their meeting and applies them … Read the article

The King of Ragtime

by Mariah Fredericks

Author Mariah Fredericks sets the scene for her latest novel, Death of an American Beauty, as she traces the rise of ragtime in New York City in the early 1900s.

… Read the article