How a stereo-mic captured unknown bands and delightful sound
NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks with Aadam Jacobs about his massive archive of taped concert recordings from the 1980s and 1990s, and the grassroots effort to get them digitized.
Melania Trump wants ABC to ‘take a stand’ against Jimmy Kimmel after ‘hateful’ joke
Two days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner ended in gunfire, Kimmel delivered a mock Correspondents’ Dinner speech during a sketch on his show. The first lady said it was “corrosive.”
‘I love transforming’: Nick Offerman goes from Pawnee to pro wrestler
Best known for his role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, Offerman plays a former professional wrestler reconnecting with his estranged daughter in Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale: A Sculpture in Motion
The 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale is a breathtaking masterpiece of automotive art, representing the pinnacle of Italian design and aerodynamic innovation from the early 1960s.
Penned by the legendary Franco Scaglione for the Bertone design house, its “Low Drag” silhouette was inspired by the famous B.A.T. concept cars, featuring fluid, curvaceous lines that were years ahead of their time. Underneath its stunning handmade aluminum body lay a spirited 1.3-liter twin-cam engine, delivering a high-revving performance that made it as thrilling to drive as it was to behold.
A true collector’s dream, the “SS” remains a symbol of an era when cars were not just machines, but sculptures built for speed and elegance. These beautiful photos show why the 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale remains one of the most beautiful silhouettes ever to grace the open road.
30 Amazing Photographs From the Set of “A Night at the Opera” (1935)
Released in November 1935, A Night at the Opera is widely considered one of the Marx Brothers’ greatest films and was their first production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Sam Wood, it marked a significant shift for the comedy troupe as their first film without Zeppo Marx and their first to feature a more structured, sympathetic narrative under the guidance of producer Irving Thalberg.
The film follows the brothers, Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho), Fiorello (Chico), and Tomasso (Harpo), as they attempt to help two talented but struggling opera singers, Ricardo and Rosa, find success. To do so, they must outwit a pompous opera director and travel from Italy to New York, eventually wreaking havoc on a live performance of Il Trovatore.
A Night at the Opera is famous for several sequences that have become staples of American comedy. Possibly the most famous bit of physical comedy in film history, where an absurdly high number of people (manicurists, stewards, engineers, etc.) cram into Groucho’s tiny ship cabin. The brothers systematically dismantle a high-brow opera performance using pulleys, costume swaps, and a baseball game played in the orchestra pit.
Producer Irving Thalberg insisted the brothers include a “straight” romantic subplot and musical interludes to make the films more appealing to a wider audience. While some fans missed the pure chaos of their earlier work (like Duck Soup), this formula made the film a massive commercial hit.
Before filming, the Marx Brothers took the script’s comedy sketches on a live vaudeville tour to test which jokes got the biggest laughs, ensuring the timing in the film was perfect. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
