History Weird History looks back at the year 1980 Andrea James

star wars Watch this once-lost 'Empire Strikes Back' doc-film from 1980 Rusty Blazenhoff

books Big book of Iain M. Banks' drawings of The Culture Rob Beschizza

lego Check out the new Lego Pac-Man arcade set Jennifer Sandlin

movies Comedy superstars perform "Hans & Franz: The Girlyman Dilemma": The Podcast Ruben Bolling

music Tina Turner dead at 83 Rob Beschizza

crime Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris dead at 93 Rob Beschizza

movies Alec Guinness's well-paid half day of work on "The Empire Strikes Back" Ruben Bolling

deaths Feminist scholar Maria Mies dead at 92 Elías Villoro

literature Salman Rushdie wins the Freedom to Publish award at the British Book Awards Elías Villoro

music The Sisters of Mercy's Andrew Eldritch turns 64, goes on tour Jennifer Sandlin

music The ongoing legacies of The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy Elías Villoro

Environment Carl Sagan: a lovely and powerful new short film and automaton installation about the urgency of environmental action (video) David Pescovitz

music This song by George Harrison makes fun of the copyright infringement case he lost Ruben Bolling

retro If Duolingo came out in the eighties Rusty Blazenhoff

This coin-op machine loudly scolds you until you insert money into it Mark Frauenfelder

retro Sidewalk surfing in the 2020s as imagined in the 1980s Elías Villoro

Science Cornell researchers study "trash barrel robots" in New York City Jennifer Sandlin

Half a century of Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles: "Just another band from East L.A." Elías Villoro

Tonka Tonka's name is an homage to Lake Minnetonka Andrew Yi