Popular Culture

After the Soviet Union sent the first human safely into orbit, the U.S. government doubled down on its effort to win the race to the moon.

A “purity” movement in the 90s led by evangelical Christians promoted a strict view of abstinence before marriage. Today, followers are grappling with unforeseen aftershocks.

Two territories, two wildly different outcomes as a pandemic terrorized the world.

Coronavirus songwriting has gone as global as the pandemic itself, creating a new genre called pandemic pop. It’s a tradition with a long history.

Plant-based meats may be high tech, but the ideas behind them have been around for decades.

Oscar night, long a showcase for Hollywood glamour, has also become a platform for film stars to pitch a rainbow of political causes.

Political memes are being deployed to share opinions, similar to how editorial cartoons were used in the past – but with one important difference.

After Napster, many consumers got used to entertainment on demand. There was no turning back.

Stella Liebeck was vilified when she was awarded millions after spilling McDonald’s coffee in her lap. Her complaint sounded frivolous. But the facts told another story.

Newborns today are tested for genetic and immune disorders that might not be apparent at birth. The tests evolved from the treatment of a patient with a rare diagnosis who became known as “the Boy in the Bubble.”

LSD has long been associated with 1960s counterculture. Today, psychedelic drugs are back in the lab, providing hope for people who suffer from anxiety, depression and addiction.

Why don’t people intervene when they encounter violence streaming live online?

The role-playing game ​D​ungeons ​&​ ​D​ragons​, once at the center of a moral panic, is now seen as a counterbalance to the problem of screen addiction.

Across the globe, more and more people are living longer lives and that’s redefining what it means to be over 65, and what the future might mean for retirement.

As gaming becomes the dominant form of entertainment this century, game developers increasingly track player behavior to tailor experiences that will keep people playing longer and spending more money.

How do some companies regain public trust after something goes seriously wrong, while others fail? A look at how Tylenol responded after someone spiked its pills with poison in the 1980s sheds some light.

Retro Report explores decades of conspiracy theories – from the John F. Kennedy assassination to Pizzagate – and what they can tell us about how we view the world today.

Did you know, the origins of the Pilates workout stem from WWI? Learn more about the fitness regimen Joseph Pilates developed in a British internment camp in this collaboration with PBS, American Experience.

Thirty years after “Live Aid” changed the face of charity fundraising, clicktivism has taken center stage. If you share, re-tweet and like, are you making the world a better place?

In the digital age, where everyday people can suddenly become public enemy number one, how do we strike the balance between keeping free speech alive online and preventing a cyber mob from taking over?

The early science of hallucinogens in the 1950s and ’60s was “kind of a Wild West free-for-all.” For more info on the science of spiders and drugs, visit www.drpeterwitt.com.

Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax’s son explains what life was like in a household where D&D took center stage.

Why Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Junot Díaz says playing Dungeons and Dragons was a revolution.

How did food companies get us to crave their products? They discovered the “bliss point.”

The curious origin of a political metaphor.

Offended by lyrics they deemed too sexual and violent, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker campaigned to put warning labels on albums in 1985. Years later, warning labels have ended up in some unexpected places.

Every so often, Congress holds a hearing on the perils of pop culture. The “peril” has evolved from comic books, to rock and hip hop music, to violence in video games, but the proceedings follow a script.

Cartoonist Al Jaffee has been causing mischief at MAD Magazine for decades and at 94-years-old, he’s as irreverent as ever. A new series of Retro Report short docs produced for Facebook.

Pinball was illegal? Really?

In the 1970s, the TV movie “Sybil” introduced much of the nation to multiple personality disorder and launched a controversy that continues to resonate.

When Prozac was introduced in 1988, the green-and-cream pill to treat depression launched a cultural revolution that continues to echo.