Behind The Scenes

Earlier this year, New-York Historical was thrilled to announce the acquisition of the papers of Robert A. Caro, whose works on Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson are considered classics of biography and history. Back in 2009, we hosted Caro for a fascinating evening on Moses, the subject of Caro’s mammoth 1974 book The Power Broker—about a man…

Historians often discuss the lives of noteworthy individuals—kings, emperors, presidents—but in reality the history of the world has been determined by collective action of the people, not by figureheads. In this 2018 public program, renowned historian Niall Ferguson explores how networks—guilds and families, clans and cabals—have cooperated throughout history to shape the ever-changing world. Networks…

I Approve This Message, an exhibition about the emotional impact of political advertising in a landscape altered by the internet, was set to open at the New-York Historical Society this September. The COVID-19 lockdown halted those plans, but we want to share a few of the exhibition’s themes, particularly as we barrel towards our new…

When New-York Historical was founded in 1804, one of its earliest missions was to preserve artifacts and materials from the American Revolution. So it’s no surprise that our Public Programs series has explored many angles on the Revolutionary era through the years. Listen to just two of them below: the first, a vivid reimagining of the…

I Approve This Message, an exhibition about the emotional impact of political advertising in a landscape altered by the internet, was set to open at the New-York Historical Society this September. The COVID-19 lockdown halted those plans, but we want to share a few of the exhibition’s themes, particularly as we barrel towards our new…

New-York Historical houses a vast collection of historic toys. It’s all fun and games, of course, but to us, it’s not just about kids’ play: We view toys as a unique, invaluable window onto how people of past decades lived, what they valued, and how they entertained themselves. It’s for this reason that we’re pleased…

In May, the world lost a titan of activism and protest when Larry Kramer passed away at the age of 84. Described by Susan Sontag as “one of America’s most valuable troublemakers,” Kramer was a playwright and essayist who found the cause of his life in the early 1980s when his community of gay men in New…

Our Public Programs series has long explored the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. And one of the most central sites in that history was Birmingham, AL, in the 1960s. Listen to two audio recordings of programs that focus on the city’s indelible place in the story of African American struggle and protest: First, a 2019 conversation between history scholar Eddie…

In 2014, New-York Historical welcomed brothers and presidential historians Tevi Troy and Gil Troy for a fascinating Public Program about the presidents as readers, moviegoers, and fans of pop culture. From Ronald Reagan’s Hollywood-trained showmanship to Bill Clinton’s saxophone playing to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s love of westerns, how have various administrations used culture to communicate and connect…