America’s First Rock Star

Plymouth Rock Has Been the Subject of History Lessons, Songs, and Speeches for 400 Years. Why Do We Love It?

“Plymouth Rock is a glacial erratic at rest in exotic terrane.” So begins John McPhee’s classic 1990 New Yorker article, the best short piece ever written about the great American relic, pointing out how geological forces carried this rock far from its original home—Africa. It is an iconic mass of granite geologically formed by fire, but it certainly also qualifies as a sedimentary and metamorphic chunk of American political culture. Plymouth Rock has long been a symbol of America’s beginnings, the country’s bedrock, its very foundation. And in the Rock’s …

by Matthew Dennis | November 25, 2014

Thanksgiving, the Infinity Mirror

During This Get-Together of Four Generations Speaking Three Languages, We All Take Turns Playing Caretaker and Taken-Care-Of

by Kim Luu | November 24, 2014

As Thanksgiving approaches, I think back to the first Thanksgiving I spent with my infant daughter three years ago, which was also the last one I spent with my grandmother. …

Haunted House 101

How to Scare Your Neighbors with Creepy, Do-It-Yourself Halloween Decorations

by Shelley Spranza | October 28, 2014

I took Stewie out of storage on the first of October. The eight-foot-tall scarecrow with a massive, mutated pumpkin head (he may have grown in the abandoned gardens near Chernobyl) …

Is Tony Soprano Quintessentially American?

Christopher Columbus Is No Longer the Iconic Italian-American. And That Might Be a Good Thing.

by Nancy Foner | October 10, 2014

It used to be that Christopher Columbus was the major iconic representative of the Italian-American community in popular culture, but he has since given way to the likes of Tony …

2014 and the Year of the Horse Both Taste Delicious

Why People Around the World Eat to Celebrate the New Year

by Sharon Bays | January 31, 2014

When I taught a course called “Food and Culture” at UCLA, I loved asking my students to investigate their families’ food histories by focusing on one feast or reunion—and then …

How to Be a Better Californian

Forget Losing Weight. The Best New Year’s Resolutions Involve Doing More for the Golden State.

by Joe Mathews | January 2, 2014

It’s a new year, Californians, and roughly half of you will make resolutions, most of them about your health and family, few of which you will still remember by summer. …

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