Reading up on history

An examination of fashion choices across 250 years shows how clothing has reflected immigrants' pursuit of the American Dream.

A book author interviews Ollie Wagner, one of Apple's first emoji designers, about the process, SoftBank influence, and Steve Jobs' approval.

This piece lists seven American taverns still operating today that served as gathering places for revolutionary plotting and gossip during the colonial era.

A 1964 IBM training video explains the benefits of direct-access storage devices (DASD) over index sequential access (ISAM), using a flipchart presentation.

Steven Johnson argues that truly understanding history requires a 'long zoom' approach, examining multiple scales from atomic to global simultaneously.

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN who pioneered 24-hour television news, died peacefully at 87, according to his family.

A Library of Congress photo essay documents the history and architecture of classic American diners, highlighting their train-car design and nostalgic menus.

The era of truly transformative technology ended around 1970, and modern digital advances like AI have not breached the barrier between software and physical reality.

Flight directors share memories of the Apollo 13 mission, detailing the tense survival effort after an explosion that nearly ended in disaster.

The FX show 'Love Story' dramatizes John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's relationship, sparking younger viewers to research the couple and 1990s NYC culture.

A Met survey argues Raphael’s enduring genius rivals Leonardo and Michelangelo, with three experts explaining his renewed relevance today.

A video essay explores how HyperCard empowered non-programmers to create interactive software, contrasting its design philosophy with modern no-code and LLM-based tools.

Cortina's 70-year-old curling stadium, host of the 1956 Olympics and a James Bond film, draws raucous crowds and minor cheating scandals at the Winter Olympics.

An Odd Lots Discord user scraped and published 842 book recommendations from the podcast's community, sparking debate about the value of curated reading lists.

The CIA has permanently sunsetted The World Factbook, removing all archives and redirecting pages to a closure announcement, while a developer archived a 2020 copy on GitHub.

Modern enthusiasts are constructing full-scale replicas of Henry David Thoreau's Walden cabin as an homage to the Transcendentalist writer.

Hardwick Hall's Elizabethan design used central fireplaces, thick stone walls, and south-facing windows to passively heat the interior, offering lessons for modern energy efficiency.