Jazz, Lunar New Year, and Thomas Edison's Spirit Phone

Jazz, 101

Jazz is a musical style that originated in the 19th-century American South. Its earliest form combined blues, a folk music that evolved from spirituals, and ragtime, a piano-based dance music, often featuring improvisation. As the Great Migration brought millions of Black Americans from the South into the North and Midwest, jazz began to spread, eventually growing into a national sensation. (See a list of the best jazz albums.)
 

Its history through the 20th century included several significant changes that bred distinct subgenres. The 1920s and 1930s brought big band and swing, often played by large orchestras that followed rigid compositions, while the 1940s gave birth to bebop, which rebelled against those styles with complex, improvised melodies. The 1950s and 1960s yielded experiments with modal and free jazz, which continue to influence musicians of all stripes. (See a timeline of the genre's history.)
 

Although jazz was once seen as an unserious, even dangerous, youth culture, it has since fallen out of popular culture and is often associated with the intellectual and avant-garde.

... Explore everything else we learned about jazz.

Also, check out ... 

> Buddy Bolden assembled the first known jazz ensemble. (Watch)

> Billie Holiday's distinctive vocal technique was aided by new microphone technology. (Read)

> Many consider John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" the most feared song in jazz. (Watch)

> Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis explains how jazz's musicality mirrors American history. (Watch)

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Experts Revisit an Ancient Weight-Loss Practice

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A beginner's guide to the Lunar New Year

An estimated 2 billion people celebrate Lunar New Year, closely associated with the Spring Festival and Chinese New Year. The 15-day festival begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar, sometime between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. This year is considered the Year of the Horse, following the seventh sign in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.

Lunar New Year is a national holiday in some countries, including China, Indonesia, and Singapore, though many other cultures have similar Lunar New Year celebrations. The holiday is regarded as the largest annual human migration in history. (See celebrations from around the world.)
 

The celebration begins on New Year’s Eve with a family reunion feast. Throughout the festival, noisy fireworks are lit to scare away Nian, a mythical beast, and dancers perform with colorful dragon puppets that symbolize wisdom, power, and wealth. People also exchange hóngbāo, or small red envelopes containing money. The final day of celebration corresponds with the full moon and ends with a spectacular display of colorful lights and lanterns.

... Explore everything else we learned about Lunar New Year.

Also, check out ... 

> Mao Zedong banned traditional Lunar New Year celebrations. (Watch)

> The 2026 holiday season includes an additional day, which Chinese officials hope will benefit the national economy. (Read)

> Firecrackers are used to symbolize warding off evil spirits. (Listen)

> A vegetarian diet is part of the Lunar New Year tradition. (Read)

A brief history of the modern restaurant

Restaurants are public, sit-down establishments that serve food and drink, often with menus dedicated to particular cuisines. Public dining can be traced back to ancient civilizations, though the earliest analog to the modern restaurant is China in the 12th century, where chefs catered to travelers seeking food from their native regions.
 

The word "restaurant" comes from the Latin for "restore," an association that some believe was thanks to the Parisian soup chef Boulanger, who claimed to make "restorative broths," though scholars suggest the story is a myth. Regardless, France's 19th-century restaurant culture established many of the industry's norms—including table service and menus—and quickly spread across Europe and the United States. (See a page from a 19th-century culinary guide.)
 

Today, restaurants are integral to cultural life, serving as meeting places for everyday citizens and presidents alike. Seven in 10 Americans dine at a restaurant at least once a month, though only 28% of Americans believe the prices are fair.

... Explore everything else we learned about restaurants.

Also, check out ... 

> Delmonico's is widely regarded as the first American fine-dining restaurant. (Watch)

> The American diner evolved from a "lunch wagon" into a proper restaurant. (Read)

> The world's largest restaurant is the size of 10 football fields. (Read)

> Hibachi restaurants were designed for American soldiers stationed in Japan. (Watch)

Cultural Context

Beyond our weekly deep dives, we love finding great takes on the culture currently shaping our lives. Here are some of the best reactions, profiles, and think pieces we encountered this week.

> Jeffrey Epstein's Art World Connections

ARTnews | Alex Greenberger and Claire Selvin. Journalists and everyday citizens are still working through the more than 3.5 million pages related to Jeffrey Epstein the FBI released in late January. Among them are numerous messages between Epstein and major players in the art world, which this detailed guide breaks down. (Read)

> The Essential Toni Morrison

NY Times | Veronica Chambers. Toni Morrison's birthday was this past Wednesday. The legendary American writer died in 2019, but her fiction is still as relevant as ever. This primer walks aspiring Morrison fans through her body of work, outlining the ideal starting point for several different kinds of readers. (Read)

> Hot and Wuther-ed

Air Mail | Daphne Merkin. Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel hit theaters last weekend. According to Merkin, it's on par with the director's other work: outrageous, anachronistic, and clearly aimed at Gen Z. Ironically, she argues that makes it significantly safer than the source material. (Read)

> The USA Finally Has a WBC Superteam

The Ringer | Ben Lindbergh. MLB's opening day is a little over a month away, but before then, we get the World Baseball Classic, where the game's best players suit up for their home countries. Lindbergh argues that Team USA's past performances have been marred by weak bullpens, something he believes has finally been fixed. (Read)

> Taking the Life Out of College Applications

WSJ | Rich Cohen. As he watches his son maneuver the college admissions process, Cohen thinks back on his more analog experience. In his eyes, what was once an existential search for a future has now become just another piece of the mind-numbing digital morass. (Read)

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Best of the Week

We curate hundreds of resources into 1440 Topics each week. Here are some of our favorites from the world of society and culture.

> Many critics panned Emily Brontë’s "Wuthering Heights" when it was published.

> Public school districts are subsidizing housing for their teachers.

> A food writer walks you through some of the best barbecue in Texas.

> An independent research team believes musician Kurt Cobain's death was not a suicide.

> One "Super Mario Bros." fan paid $2M for an unopened cartridge of the game.

> Thomas Edison, eager to communicate with ghosts, tinkered with an apparatus called the "spirit phone."

> A cataclysmic volcanic eruption is unlikely at Yellowstone, but that hasn't stopped the story from spreading.

> People under 45 are increasingly interested in purchasing music on CD.

> HH Richardson developed a style that changed American architecture.

> Check out a fascinating analysis of the most searched-for birds in every state.

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