Art, music, sports, entertainment, movies, and many other subjects—these elements define who we are as a society and how we express ourselves as a culture. Take a deep dive into the topics shaping our shared norms, values, institutions, and more.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
“The Grand Ole Opry” changed the course of country music, bringing the music from the mountains and hollers to a nationwide audience through its weekly show. This archive of the radio program offers hundreds of hours of Opry radio programs from several decades of the show’s existence.
Most contemporary yoga studios focus on two of astanga yoga’s eight branches, as codified in the ancient text “Yoga Sutras of Patañjali”: asanas (physical postures) and pranayama (breath control). However, the larger practice of yoga includes six additional limbs: yama (universal ethics), niyama (individual ethics), pratyahara (control of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (pure consciousness).
The French philosopher’s most famous work, published in 1759, cataloged the journey of its titular hero, who was guided by a crackpot philosopher and the belief that optimism was the solution to life’s problems, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
The rules of the sport set bounds on possible final outcomes, so this adept statistician mined some fascinating takeaways. Some scores are impossible (like 5 to 1) and some are more common (like 20-17, occurring over 300 times since 1944). Watch for a deluge of numbers.
The combination was not an obvious hit, but books like "Hockey With Benefits," "Body Check," and "Puck and Prejudice" (a Jane Austen fan fiction) have grown popular thanks to a romance novel boom and an interest on TikTok. Now, HBO and Amazon are taking note with streaming adaptations.
Samuel Beckett was an admirer of art and, while touring German art galleries in 1937, saw Caspar David Friedrich’s Two Men Contemplating the Moon. A directorial notebook for the original production of “Waiting for Godot” notes that the end of the play’s first act was inspired by the 19th-century work.
High heels originated as practical men’s footwear—used by Persian cavalry and later adopted by European elites, such as Louis XIV, as symbols of power and status. Only in the 18th century did heels become associated with femininity, before periodic male revivals.
Chase attended Bard College in the 1960s with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who'd later form the group Steely Dan, known for hits like "Reelin' in the Years" and "Peg." Chase played drums for the college band, which, at one point, was called the Very Bad Jazz Band.
A typical yoga class runs students through a sequence of basic postures, also known as asanas. This illustrated guide outlines 12 poses—including the “plough,” “fish,” and “crow”—and breaks down the specific benefits.
The duo starred as Vladimir and Estragon, respectively, in a 1988 production of Samuel Beckett's play. Since then, the show has become an opportunity for other famous duos to engage with the Theater of the Absurd, including Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (in 2009, and then again from 2013 to 2014) and Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves (from 2025 to 2026). The only complete recording of a Williams and Martin production is available for researchers at the New York Public Library, though you can watch a few scenes below.