A “Punk” Christmas With Shonen Knife
Here’s Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife playing their song “Sweet Christmas.” It’s one of their two big holiday songs, the other being the more-famous “Space Christmas.” Are you in the …..
The Who2 Blog
Eleanor Roosevelt Wrote a Daily Newspaper Column for 25 Years
Earlier we were speaking of the polio diagnosis of President Franklin Roosevelt. Now let’s chat a bit about the stamina of his wife, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. For years, Eleanor …..
FDR Probably Got Polio at a Boy Scout Jamboree
You learn something new every day, and today we learned how future president Franklin D. Roosevelt got polio at age 39. Or how he probably got it: from the Boy …..
Will Robert Wadlow Always Be the World’s Tallest Man?
Will anyone ever be taller than Robert Wadlow? The small-town boy from Illinois was a whopping 8’11” tall — that’s right: eight feet, eleven inches — when he died in …..
Rihanna is In, Queen Elizabeth is Out as Barbados Declares Independence
Queen Elizabeth II has one less item on her plate: Barbados has become an independent republic. Musical star Rihanna and royal representative Prince Charles were on hand as Barbados cut …..
Lucian Freud Painting That Lucian Freud Denied Painting Was Painted by Lucian Freud
Here’s a fascinating little story about hotsy-totsy 20th-century artist Lucian Freud and a portrait he said he didn’t paint. In 1997, a Swiss art collector bought what he thought was …..
Edmund Fitzgerald was Alive When the Edmund Fitzgerald Sank
You might have assumed that the ill-fated ship the Edmund Fitzgerald was named for an old-timey sea captain or an Irish bartender or some other sailing-adjacent fellow. Not so! As …..
Dave Grohl Looks Back as He’s Inducted (Again) Into the Rock Hall of Fame
Here’s a wonderful interview with rocker Dave Grohl, courtesy of New York magazine. Grohl just got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a second time. This …..
Hoagy Carmichael on The Flintstones: A Needlessly Detailed Analysis
Looking back from a distance of 60 years, Hoagy Carmichael‘s 1961 appearance on The Flintstones was a strange affair. One might think this was a desperation gag near the end of …..
How Charlie Watts Did His Thing
The encomiums for Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts were broad and heartfelt after his death last month. Words like limber, subtle, stoic and impeccable were tossed about in obituaries and …..
Emma Raducanu Biography: New!
Our new biography of tennis star Emma Raducanu is now live. We almost said “tennis prodigy,” but that term no longer applies when you’re the reigning U.S. Open champion. Her …..
Ed Asner, star of Lou Grant and Up, has died at age 91
Actor and seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner has died. His family confirmed the news in a message on Asner’s Twitter account: We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch …..
Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones drummer, is dead at 80
Charlie Watts, rock-steady drummer for the Rolling Stones since 1963, has died at a London hospital. The band’s official Twitter feed shared the news earlier today: pic.twitter.com/wi6333F6QF — The Rolling …..
John Glenn and the ‘Problem’ of ‘Lady Astronauts’
100 years after the birth of John Glenn, a historian looks at how he inspired girls to want to go to space – but in line with the sexism of the early space program, he offered little encouragement
Bo the Dog Has Crossed the Rainbow Bridge
Bo in 2009. (Official White House photo by Chuck Kennedy) Bo the Dog has died, sad to say. The former First Dog passed away at age 12 after a bout …..
Mary Ball Washington: The Single Mom Who Shaped Her Unappreciative Son George
For Mother’s Day, an appreciation of Mary Ball Washington, the strong-willed mother of George Washington. Male historians have tended to take his complaints about her at face value.
Orson Welles Wasn’t Drunk After All
This infamous Orson Welles too-drunk-to-work video has been having a moment lately, 40 years after it was filmed. Now we’re happy to report on a surprising new twist. The story in …..
Megan Thee Stallion Biography: New!
Megan Thee Stallion just won three Grammys at the 2021 Grammy Awards. They included best rap song and best rap performances for “Savage,” her remixed hit with Béyonce, plus best new …..
Chien-Shiung Wu, Trailblazing Nuclear Physicist, Honored with a Stamp
A groundbreaking Chinese-American woman physicist, ignored for the Nobel Prize, gets a US postage stamp.
What (and Who) Should Replace Confederate Statues?
The likes of Richard T. Greener should replace memorials to Confederates. He was a groundbreaking Black professor at the University of South Carolina.