New-York Historical’s exhibition So Ready for Laughter: Bob Hope and World War II explores the legendary comedian’s work entertaining the troops and lifting spirits during the darkest days of the 1940s. But for decades, Hope was also known for another job: Hollywood’s consummate master of ceremonies. Starting in 1940, Hope hosted the Academy Awards a…

Last February, New-York Historical celebrated the opening of Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution with a public program that dove into the lasting impact of one of Graham’s most famous achievements: the Fillmore East in New York City. Robert Greenfield, the coauthor of Bill Graham Presents, joined us, along with a panel of Graham’s contemporaries and colleagues to talk…

New-York Historical’s exhibition Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution takes a deep dive into the life and times of one of the most influential concert promoters in rock history and the man behind such acts as the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Santana. A Holocaust survivor and former child refugee, Bill…

In 2017, New-York Historical opened The Vietnam War: 1945–1975, a wide-ranging exhibition that chronicled America’s long, complex, and painful involvement in Vietnam and its effects on our politics and society at home. Our Public Programs series explored many angles on this theme, so listen to two below: the first is a conversation between author Max Boot and moderator General…

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…

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…

In the months leading up to the 1952 presidential election, the campaigns were having a vigorous debate—about television. President Harry Truman had declined to run for another term, and the contest was shaping up between Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson for the Democrats and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Republicans. At this point in history,…

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re revisiting some of the touching human stories we collected from our 2014 exhibition Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion. The exhibition explored the complex history of the Chinese in America and the themes of immigration, citizenship, and belonging that shaped the Chinese American experience. To complement the exhibition, we highlighted…

April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was a remarkably non-partisan affair that brought an estimated 20 million people out into the streets, parks, and beaches across the United States. In New York alone, Earth Day celebrations, rallies, and teach-ins shut down 5th Avenue…