Bunk combs the web for new interpretations of American history, and highlights the fascinating connections between them.
Episode
The Secret Subway Under Broadway
Decades before New York City’s subway system opened to the public, an eccentric inventor set about building his own underground system – IN SECRET – beneath Broadway. It wasn’t powered by steam engine…or electrical engine…or even horses. It was powered by pneumatic tube (yes, like those tubes you occasionally see at the bank, or at cannabis dispensaries.)
Book Review
When America’s Culture Wars Were Fought in Art Galleries
Late 20th-century culture wars over artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano set the stage for the transgressive Age of Trump.
exhibit
America’s Big Birthdays
Every 50 years, the nation comes together to wrestle with the principles of its founding and what they mean for us in the present.
Book Excerpt
The Fighting Irish: Ireland and the American Revolution
Irish people profoundly impacted the American Revolution, fighting on both sides of the war. In return, the Revolution shaped struggles for Irish independence.
Comment
The Scandal and the Scale
Is there more to the story that the New York Times is reporting about the scholarship of historian Kerri Greenidge? Something doesn't add up.
Retrieval
The Philly Killer at 50
Legionnaires’ disease is more prevalent than ever. So how did we forget it?
How the Working-Class Man’s Game Became an Elite Sport in the U.S.
The path to the World Cup is accessible to only a narrow slice of American soccer players.