When the Federal Theatre Project Came to Gary
The program's director wrote that "no federal money was better spent" than on a children's theatre program in Gary, Indiana.
The Flooding of Beech Fork
In the twentieth century, dams transformed the landscape of Appalachia. What was lost in the process?
Forty Years of ‘Blues Before Sunrise’
Steve Cushing’s long-running radio program remains a singular and imperative cultural exploration of America’s blues heritage.
The Rust Belt is Indigenous Land
A land acknowledgement, plus ten stories from the archives on Indigenous life in the region.
Suzi Quatro and the Sound of Detroit Rock
If the Detroit music scene revolutionized rock, Suzi Quatro brought it to a wider audience with polished production and an ear for catchy hooks.
The Keystone State is Ringing
Pennsylvania has always defied easy categorization. That's what makes it so great.
Following the Yellowlined Road
Yellowlining—the lesser cousin of federal-government redlining—was a discriminatory force that historians and economists have only begun to explore.
Armed, Angry Men
Trump, militias, and the long history of voter intimidation and violence in the Midwest.
“Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds”
Examining Minnesota's Indigenous history.
The Poisonous Legacy of Portsmouth’s Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The plant was erected in Pike County, Ohio during the cold war to enrich uranium. Then people started getting sick. Now, they're stuck cleaning up the mess.
The Brief but Spectacular Life of Youngstown’s Tomorrow Club
In the early Seventies, the venue embodied the “golden age of rock music”—and saw the early years of some of the industry’s most iconic acts.
When Classic Rock Icons Made Headlines at the Rubber Bowl
The stadium was partially demolished in 2018, but in the 1980s and 1990s, it hosted some of the biggest bands in the world.