History, stories, and deep dives from the Bowery Boys.
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The FirstMay 8, 2017
THE FIRST PODCAST Imagine if we could hear the voices of Abraham Lincoln, Queen Victoria or Harriet Tubman? Believe it or not, somebody was making audio recordings as far back as the 1850s. Had these techniques been widespread, we might have had the words of…
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History has always been a critical component of theater, especially in musicals, where period sets and costumes assist in creating other worlds on stage quite unlike our normal one. But…
BOOK REVIEW The history of sports is often written around its most revered role models, as though the noble character of the greatest players comes from the…
THE FIRST PODCAST Of the tens of thousands of U.S. patents granted in the 19th century, only a small fraction were held by women. One of…
BOOK REVIEW The architects and builders of the post-Civil War period provided New York City with masterpieces of great beauty -- cast-iron facades, modern emblems of…
DeWitt Clinton Park, far west in Hell's Kitchen between West 52nd and West 54th Streets, has two unusual features that harken to a time one hundred…
One hundred years ago this week, the United States of America rose to assist its European allies and officially declared war on Germany. This was an…
Bryant Park is a rather remarkable physical space. During the winter it becomes a skating rink and outdoor market, while in the summer, its lawn host…
This April we will be recording a show in front of a live audience that will be released as an upcoming podcast — in honor of…
It was during one of those terrible February nights -- blizzard winds with the streets packed tight with snow -- at a jazz club in the…
THE FIRST: STORIES OF INVENTIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES The Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla is known as one of the fathers of electricity, the curious genius behind alternating…
Cast-iron construction, pioneered in America by architect James Bogardus in the 1850s, became the preferred method of building large dry goods shops and department stores in…
One hot summer's morning, in the neighborhood of Yorkville on the Upper East Side, high school student James Powell was shot and killed by police officer James…
