All upcoming Popular Culture programs

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other holiday. Andrew Roth of the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania, unlocks the hidden stories behind its evolution from ancient and surprising origins to how it’s marked today. He also traces how greeting cards, wine, roses, and chocolate came to symbolize one of our most revered cultural traditions of saying, “I love you.”

There wasn’t anything Judy Garland couldn’t do, from breaking an audience’s heart with a song to effortlessly dancing up a storm to delivering enthralling comic and dramatic performances. Media historian Brian Rose examines her remarkable Hollywood career, which began in her young teens at MGM and continued with such timeless classics as The Wizard of Oz, Easter Parade, and her stirring comeback in 1954’s A Star is Born.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first Black player in Major League Baseball’s modern era, breaking the game’s long-standing color barrier. Robinson’s influence reached far beyond the diamond, as he used his platform to challenge racial injustice. Sports historian Fred Frommer and former Senators stadium announcer Phil Hochberg delve into Robinson’s journey as both a pioneering athlete and voice in the civil rights movement.

In 1937, our expectations of fairy tales were forever changed when Walt Disney Productions released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Yet the film is only a part of a bigger “Snow White” tradition. Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman do a deep dive into that history, revealing folkloric and literary tales that provided the bedrock preceding Disney’s version and examining how the story has been retold in contemporary times.

For more than 70 years, the adventures of James Bond have thrilled readers and left them wondering if any of his escapades are actually possible. Kathryn Harkup, a former chemist, investigates 007’s exploits and the weapons, technologies, and tactics of his foes. During the process, she assesses the practicalities of building a volcano-based lair and whether being covered in gold paint really would kill you.

Media historian Brian Rose examines the many ways the internet has radically transformed the “old” media of newspapers, magazines, the recording industry, film, radio, and television. He traces how this digital revolution took place in such a short period of time and considers what might lie ahead in the continually changing era of “new” media.

From 1956 to 1969, Elvis Presley made 31 films, starring in all but one. Unfortunately, Elvis’ dream of being taken seriously as an actor was never fulfilled, thanks to the almost insatiable greed of his manager, Col. Tom Parker. Media historian Brian Rose examines the ups and downs of Presley’s Hollywood career, which started off with such promise in films such as King Creole and Jailhouse Rock.

President Michael Douglas? President Gene Hackman? President Harrison Ford? Hollywood has long imagined Oval Office leaders, and film historian Max Alvarez guides audiences through nine decades of cinematic presidential portrayals. From failed box office attempts in the 1930s and ’40s, to JFK-era thrillers, Clinton-era dramas, and more complex depictions in “The West Wing,” “House of Cards,” and “VEEP,” Alvarez explores how film and television shaped presidential images. Expect dueling Nixons and LBJs in this lively multimedia lecture.

Located in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, “The First Ladies” exhibition explores the unofficial but important position of first lady. Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the exhibition, brings this historic collection to life. And French-American designer Hervé Pierre, who has designed for four United States first ladies since the 1990s, shares his experiences.

Pop culture is populated by plenty of fictional cephalopod and cephalopod-inspired characters, from Squidward of “SpongeBob SquarePants” to the heptapod aliens of Arrival. Whether these portrayals accurately represent the biology, anatomy, and behavior of the animals that inspired them is another question. Come find out how quickly Finding Dory’s Hank could regenerate his eighth arm and whether a kraken could really sink a ship as cephalopod expert Danna Staaf proves that truth can be stranger than fiction.