History

The World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's in Orlando, Fla., was once known for its bizarre exterior. The restaurant has since undergone renovations. It is a planned stop on Max Krieger's tour of strange and unusual McDonald's in Florida.

Music & Culture

One Man's Journey To Document The Strangest McDonald's In The World

4:20pm September 04, 2021

by Savannah Sicurella

Max Krieger celebrates the most uncommon locations of the restaurant that serves as a common bond for most of us. He plans to visit remodeled sites and ones that persist in all their eccentric glory.

Striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization hold a rally on Aug. 6, 1981, on Long Island, N.Y. Nearly 13,000 air-traffic controllers walked off the job and most were fired by President Ronald Reagan after refusing to return t

Here Are 3 Pivotal Moments In Workers' History To Remember This Labor Day

10:18am September 04, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

From a deadly factory fire to a presidential showdown with strikers, these major labor events became central to U.S. history, the modern labor movement and the rights afforded to workers.

Sean Sherman speaks at the TEDxSiouxFalls 2020. Photo courtesy of TED.

Environment

Sean Sherman: What Can We Learn From Indigenous Culinary Traditions?

8:26am September 03, 2021

The loss of Native American food traditions has been taking place for centuries. At Owamni, chef Sean Sherman is trying to change that by serving food that celebrates and preserves Lakota cooking.

Queue Listen Now

A nearly 70-year-old newspaper clipping about infamous "Martinsville Seven" rape case shows the seven Black men convicted of raping a white woman. They were executed in 1951 after exhausting their appeals.

These 7 Black Men Were Executed For An Alleged Rape. Now, They Have Been Pardoned

5:17pm August 31, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

Gov. Ralph Northam said pardoning the "Martinsville Seven" was the state's way of acknowledging that the men were executed without due process.

World News

Beijing's Subway System Offers History At Each Stop, Both Above And Below Ground

8:42pm August 30, 2021

by Emily Feng

For our Summer Travel series, our Beijing correspondent rides the city's subway system and explores the history of each stop — above ground and below ground.

Untitled (young boy), undated, sixth-plate daguerreotype. Smithsonian American Art Museum, the L. J. West Collection of Early African American Photography, Museum purchase made possible through the Franz H. and Luisita L. Denghausen Endowment.

Arts

Smithsonian Acquires Rare Antique Portraits From First Black Photographers

12:46pm August 29, 2021

by Sophia Alvarez Boyd

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has bought a collection of early photographs, including very rare daguerreotypes from three early Black photographers dating to the mid 19th century.

A Family Remembers The 1st U.S. Soldier Killed In The War In Afghanistan

10:59am August 28, 2021

As the U.S. pulls its troops out of Afghanistan, family members of Nathan Chapman remember the decorated veteran, who was killed in action at age 31 on Jan. 4, 2002.

Blanca Cardenas, professor of ethnology at the National School of Anthropology and History, wears the mask "COVID Tiger," by Nahua artisan Armando Pascualeño from Zitlala, Guerrero, Mexico.

PHOTOS: Mexican Artists Create Fantastical Masks To Show The Many Faces Of COVID

8:43am August 28, 2021

by Cathy Newman

Two professors invited indigenous artisans to make masks portraying the agent of the pandemic — the coronavirus — through the lens of their cultural traditions.

Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

National

Fortnite Is Letting You Relive MLK's 'I Have A Dream' Speech

3:07pm August 27, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The video game's new feature takes players back in time to experience Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic 1963 speech. But some people worry it sends the wrong message about the civil rights leader.

A photo taken on October 18, 1920, of suffragettes in Newark, New Jersey during the closing hours of the campaign for votes in support of the 19th Amendment.

Politics & Government

Voting Advocates Say Women's Equality Day Has A Complicated (And Yes, Racist) History

3:56pm August 26, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

Women's Equality Day commemorates the day that the 19th amendment was certified on August 26, 1920. It was a watershed moment, but voting rights advocates say its true legacy is more nuanced.