A-Town Magazine
The cheesehead hat is a sunny nod to America’s ‘Hold my beer’ exuberance
Americans long have leavened their powerful global image with goofiness, a cheerful confidence that can deflect international wonder over certain strains of ignorance into a smile. Behold, for example, the cheesehead hat. Made of sofa foam and sunny yellow defiance, the hat was created in the late 1980s in response to the taunting faced by […]
Gamification and memes lure young people to sports wagering apps, prediction markets
When Rory McIlroy won the Masters for the second year in a row, Kalshi shared a photo of him on Instagram with the words, “Wait he’s goated.” When a video of NBA player Damian Lillard recovering from an injury circulated online, Kalshi’s main competitor Polymarket posted, “The league is cooked.” If you don’t know what […]
Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they’re dying out
NEW YORK | Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living. “It’s all so funny,” she says. “When I tell them I run the trade association for independent stores, they’ll say, ‘It’s just so sad that they’re disappearing.’ I don’t […]
When Sue Tilley met Lucian Freud, it changed her life. Now a painting of her could fetch $47 million
LONDON | Sue Tilley was working in an unemployment office when she met the artist Lucian Freud. The paintings he made of her in the 1990s are now among the most famous in modern art — and the most valuable. “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,” regarded as one of Freud’s masterpieces, is going up for […]
As the United States turns 250, Americans still can’t get enough of French luxury
NEW YORK | At the pinnacle of the American cultural pyramid, one particular inspiration has echoed across the centuries through friendship and tension alike: France. The American love affair with French luxury goods and their cultural cachet and craftsmanship has spanned the younger country’s history, and a new exhibit explores the story of how these […]
Martina McBride, Morris Day among wave of cancellations at Trump-linked Freedom 250 concerts
NEW YORK | A day after the President Donald Trump -affiliated Freedom 250 announced the “first wave” of performers for “The Great American State Fair” shows on Washington’s National Mall in June and July, the lineup has been hit with a wave of cancellations. Young MC, Morris Day, the Commodores and Martina McBride are among […]
Clothing rental services promise a sustainable alternative to fast fashion. Experts say it depends
For weddings, vacations or other special occasions, more consumers are turning to clothing rental services instead of buying something new. These subscription-based services, often marketed as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, ship straight to customers everything from everyday and workwear to dresses, handbags and formalwear. Then, the items are returned for someone else to […]
How ‘Navalny’ filmmaker Daniel Roher’s post-Oscar creative depression inspired ‘Tuner’
For Daniel Roher, making things is kind of a compulsion. Perhaps it’s not surprising for someone who was able to direct two movies at the same time: A documentary about artificial intelligence, now streaming on Peacock, and the heist thriller “Tuner,” in theaters Friday. But he is the kind of person who is constantly creating, […]
Good dog! More children’s hospitals turn to furry caregivers to help kids heal
CINCINNATI | The first time 5-year-old Calvin Owens went outside in more than a month, he met up with his canine friend Hadley on a hospital patio. Despite being tethered to equipment with wires and tubes, the little boy managed to stand up near his wheelchair long enough to toss her a ball. He smiled […]
Q&A: Anna Gomez is the sole Democrat on the FCC. She has a warning for big media companies
WASHINGTON | Anna Gomez wakes up every morning and checks her phone to see if President Donald Trump has fired her yet. For now, she remains the sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, where she’s on an increasingly urgent mission to press media companies to more forcefully combat an administration she says is cracking […]