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Michele Debczak

Michele Debczak

Michele Debczak is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. She appears in seasons four through six of History Channel’s “The Food That Built America,” and her work has been featured in Mental Floss, IndieWire, Eater and Vice.

Illustration of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

This Week, NASA Will Launch a First-of-Its-Kind Mission to Save a Space Telescope That Has Observed the Sky for Nearly 22 Years

In 2024, researchers realized that the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was falling from its orbit faster than expected. Now, a robotic spacecraft called LINK aims to give the satellite a boost

Sagrada Família, in Barcelona, Spain

This Basilica Has Been Rising Above Barcelona for 144 Years. With Its Central Tower Now Complete, Pope Leo XIV Prepares to Visit

When Antoni Gaudí dreamed up his ambitious vision for Sagrada Família, he knew he wouldn’t live to see its completion. One hundred years after the architect’s death, the tallest tower has reached its peak

A kibble Mona Lisa on display

Using Colorful Dog Kibble, Artists Turn ‘Mona Lisa,’ ‘The Scream’ and ‘The Kiss’ Into Museum Masterpieces That Man’s Best Friend Can Appreciate

Sisters from New Jersey spent two months recreating famous artworks while also making sure their dog didn’t get into the edible art supplies

The Leonora Carrington exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris

No Mere Muse, This Influential Surrealist Artist and Feminist Gets Her Due in a New Biopic and Art Exhibitions

Leonora Carrington’s life and work are celebrated with the new film “Leonora in the Morning Light.” Meanwhile, an exhibition at the Freud Museum showcases for the first time artwork she created inside a psychiatric hospital

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

An Illuminating New Museum Hidden Beneath the Lincoln Memorial Is Set to Open to the Public. Here’s What You Can Expect

Tickets for the Lincoln Memorial undercroft museum are now available to reserve. When the attraction opens on June 25, visitors will get to see the D.C. landmark from a whole new perspective

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, James McNeill Whistler, 1871

Whistler Didn’t Mean to Make His Mourning Mother an Art World Star. Today, She’s a Highlight at a Major Exhibition in London

Officially titled ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1,’ James McNeill Whistler’s stoic portrait of his mother has come to define the artist’s style and legacy. The artwork is currently on display in the same city where it was painted more than 150 years ago

Angel Island Immigration Station 

To Mark America’s 250th Birthday, See the Country’s ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’ You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

From a Revolutionary War battlefield to a civil rights-era safe haven, these historic sites are at risk, according to the latest list from the National Trust for Historic Preservation

La Caverne du Pont Neuf under construction in Paris

The Oldest Bridge in Paris Was Swallowed Overnight by a Giant, Inflatable Cave in the Latest Artwork by the ‘French Banksy’

French street artist JR chose the Pont Neuf bridge as the canvas for his latest larger-than-life art installation, created with audio accompaniment by a Daft Punk musician

A conservator holds the wood and wax booklet. 

From a Medieval Latrine in Germany, Archaeologists Extracted a Pristine Leather Notebook That Preserved Latin Cursive for Centuries

The writing in the booklet suggests it belonged to an upper-class merchant, who may have had a mishap while using the toilet 800 years ago

The death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry Takes a Journey for a Fresh Perspective as the British Museum Prepares to Lay the Masterpiece Out Flat

After spending centuries in France, the 1,000-year-old tapestry depicting the Norman Conquest of England is traveling to its home country

Photographer Richard Avedon in his New York City studio in 1975

This Photographer Was Famous for Snapping Celebrities Like Marilyn Monroe, But His Images of Vietnam War Victims and Coal Miners Revealed the Surprising Power of Portraits

A new documentary about photographer Richard Avedon, directed by Ron Howard and debuting at the Cannes Film Festival, uses archival footage and contemporary interviews to weave the story of just how far his influence extends

A digital rendering of new museum Dataland 

The World’s First Museum of A.I. Art Will Open in Los Angeles as the Art World Ponders Questions of Ethics and Sustainability

Dataland’s immersive exhibitions, generated with artificial intelligence, will debut to the public on June 20, with an inaugural show about rainforests trained on millions of images of nature

The Strait of Gibraltar 

In a Graveyard of Shipwrecks Between Europe and Africa, Archaeologists Discovered Vessels Doomed Over Thousands of Years

The “harbor” of the Strait of Gibraltar is the final resting place for shipwrecks from ancient Rome, the medieval era and World War II, according to a new archaeological survey

El Greco’s The Baptism of Christ, c. 1608-14

Can A.I. Determine Which Artist Made a Painting? This New Brushstroke Detection Tool May Have Solved a Mystery About El Greco

While debating the authorship of “The Baptism of Christ,” one of El Greco’s final works, art experts long relied on their own analysis of brushstrokes. A new study tapped artificial intelligence to peer at the paint at a microscopic level

The Spice Girls performed at the Brit Awards in 1997.

The Spice Girls Changed Pop Forever in 1996. Thirty Years Later, Their Iconic Outfits Are on Display in a New Exhibition in London

The Barbican Music Library is celebrating British pop culture with a show that features Mel B’s leopard catsuit, Emma Bunton’s blue dress and Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack boots

This coin was found near Chile’s Strait of Magellan.

Hundreds of Spanish Settlers Died at the ‘Port of Famine.’ This Newly Discovered Silver Coin Reveals Where the Doomed Colony Was Founded 400 Years Ago

Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe was established on the north shore of Chile’s Strait of Magellan in 1584. When an English navigator came across it several years later, few survivors remained

Archaeologists uncovered a Cold War bunker underneath an English castle.

Why Is a Cold War Bunker Buried Underneath This Medieval English Castle? In Case of Nuclear ‘Armageddon’

Archaeologists uncovered a relic of the 20th-century conflict beneath Scarborough Castle, decades after the bunker was sealed and its exact location was forgotten

Wishbone ready for his close-up

In the 1990s, a Dog Taught Kids About Shakespeare and Homer. A New Documentary Tells the Tale of ‘Wishbone’—From His Backflips to His Historical Hats

The film reunites the human cast and crew who saw the potential of a Jack Russell terrier to bring classic literature to life on PBS

Pearl Fryar in his topiary garden

Born to a Family of Sharecroppers, This Topiary Artist Overcame Discrimination to Become the ‘Picasso of Plants’

Self-taught artist Pearl Fryar, who died this month at age 86, got his start when he tried to win an award from his local garden club. He ended up becoming a celebrity in the horticultural world

Cecilia Oliver makes final adjustments to Quen Elizabeth II's coronation dress, designed by Norman Hartnell

From Sparkling Tiaras to Pastel Hats, New Buckingham Palace Exhibition Celebrates the Fashion of Elizabeth II

In addition to being a world leader, the British queen was a fashion icon. A new show at Elizabeth’s former residence highlights some of the most memorable looks and the history behind them

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