Bylines

Andrew Katzenstein

Ed Charles, Jerry Koosman, and Jerry Grote celebrating the New York Mets’ World Series win against the Baltimore Orioles at Shea Stadium, Queens, New York, October 16, 1969.

‘Metsochism’

A new history of the Mets tries to turn the pain of losing into the struggle of class politics.
A lithograph illustrating the discovery of iguanodon fossils in Bernissart, Belgium, 1878

The Fight Over the Meaning of Fossils

When the remains of prehistoric creatures were discovered in Europe and the U.S., it opened up a heated debate on the nature of time and the purpose of science.
A portrait of Ignatius Donnelly.

The Peculiar Case of Ignatius Donnelly

The politician presents a riddle for historians. He was a beloved populist but also a crackpot conspiracist. Were his politics tainted by his strange beliefs?
Characters in the 1934 film "The Thin Man."

Fools in Love

Screwball comedies are beloved films, but for decades historians and critics have disagreed over what the genre is and which movies belong to it.
Albert Ayler (right) and his brother Donald Ayler, Harlem, 1966.

Escaping from Notes to Sounds

The saxophonist Albert Ayler revolutionized the avant-garde jazz scene, drastically altering notions of what noises qualified as music.