Eileen Southern

The Work of Pioneering Musicologist Eileen Southern

The scholarship of Black music was transformed by Southern's work, and is now being honored by a new initiative.
Photograph: Charli D'Amelio attends the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, which was broadcast live on FOX on May 27, 2021. 

Source: Getty

The Real Appeal of Reality Stars

Reality shows bring "ordinary people" into our homes as entertainment, presenting celebrity to us "cafeteria-style."
From Home Suggestions, 1921

How American Consumers Embraced Color

Vivid hues in everyday products became eye-popping reality in the early twentieth century.
from the cover of Radio-Electronics, June 1949, Volume 20, Number 9

Can Radio Really Educate?

In the 1920s, radio was an exciting new mass medium. It was known for providing entertainment, but educators wondered if it could also be used for education.
People holding hands at a civil rights demonstration in Washington, DC, in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, September 1963.

Making Eyes on the Prize

One of the most influential historical documentaries of all time almost didn't get made.
Actor John Boles with extras from his latest musical, 'Redheads On Parade', 1935

The Rise of Hollywood’s “Extra Girls”

They didn't have to do anything besides stand around and look pretty. At least, that was the myth the studios wanted the public to believe.
Sandra Oh in The Chair

Who Looks Like a Professor?

Movie portrayals of faculty may influence the ideas about professors that students bring to the first day of class.
Nat "King" Cole performs a song on piano on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on April 13, 1958 in New York City

Way before MTV, Music Ruled the Living Room

I want my Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey, and Lawrence Welk! To say nothing of Soul Train!
Opening title from Night of the Living Dead

The Summer Blockbusters of JSTOR Daily

Our favorite stories about popcorn movies! There may or may not be explosions.
Three cats singing by Louis Wain

Six Cat Poems That Aren’t That Owl and Pussycat One

There's nothing practical about these felines. Meow.