Here’s an amazing time capsule from the golden age of jazz: Miles Davis and his group–including John Coltrane–performing with the Gil Evans Orchestra on the CBS program, The Robert Herridge Theater.
The show was recorded on April 2, 1959 at Studio 61 in New York.

This weekend, Mike Wallace died at the age of 93. As The New York Times observes in its obit, Wallace was “a pioneer of American broadcasting who confronted leaders and liars for 60 Minutes over four decades.

A few weeks back, we featured the pilot of The Muppet Show that first aired on ABC in 1975. When you watch it, you’ll be struck by two things — 1) the unexpected title, “Sex & Violence,” and the show’s somewhat jarring focus on an adult market.

Say what you will about mid-eighties American culture, but how many historical moments could bring together a world-famous visual artist and rock star over a genuinely innovative consumer product? Maybe Apple could orchestrate something similar today; after all, we endure no drought of celebrity enthusiasm for iPods, iPads, iMacs, and iPhones.

After a 17 month hiatus, Mad Men is back. Episode 3 of Season 5 airs tonight. And, to warm you up, we’re revisiting the moment when the award-winning AMC series first started.

Earlier this month, we posted a pair of Wes Anderson-directed television commercials advertising the Hyundai Azera. While I understood that, at one time, a known auteur using his cinematic powers to pitch sensible sedans would have raised hackles, I didn’t realize that it could still spark a lively debate today.

In this rare footage from 1975, a 26-year-old John Belushi warms up with some eyebrow calisthenics before doing his signature Marlon Brando impression in a screen test for a new late-night television program called Saturday Night Live. He got the part, of course, and his star rose rapidly along with the show’s.

Crossfire aired on CNN from 1982 to 2005, famously pitting liberal pundits and special guests against their conservative counterparts. Perhaps you will remember the most famous episode — the day in 2004 when Jon Stewart paid a visit and demolished the whole premise of the show. It’s hard to top that moment.

We could call Alain de Botton, in the classical sense, a philosophical amateur: that is, one who loves philosophy. But not everybody loves the way he approaches the field.

Forget about inclined planes and pulleys. In this series from the PBS program NOVA, physics is presented as an exotic, mind-bending realm.
The Fabric of the Cosmos, first broadcast in November, follows up on the 2003 Peabody Award-winning The Elegant Universe.