Why does an 18th-century Christian oratorio lend such comfort to our own turbulent times? Stephen Dubner sets out for Dublin to tell the story of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. (Part one of “Making Messiah.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Charles King, political scientist at Georgetown University.
  • Katrine Sørensen, Danish broadcaster, host of Handel's Messiah - The Advent Calendar.
  • Mark Risinger, teacher at St. Bernard's School.
  • Michael and Aileen Casey, Dublin conservationists.
  • Proinnsías Ó Duinn, conductor and music director of Our Lady's Choral Society.
  • Stuart Kinsella, tenor soloist and consort singer.

• RESOURCES:
  • Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah, by Charles King (2024).
  • "Two Men Wrote ‘Messiah.’ You Know One of Them." by Charles King (New York Times, 2024).
  • "On Fishamble Street, family lives among four centuries of relatives’ keepsakes," by Zuzia Whelan (Dublin Inquirer, 2018).
  • Hallelujah: The Story of a Musical Genius & the City That Brought His Masterpiece, by Jonathan Bardon (2016).
  • George Frideric Handel: A Life with Friends, by Ellen Harris (2014).
  • Handel: The Man & His Music, by Jonathan Keates (2010).
  • "Handel's Messiah," performed by The London Symphony Orchestra (2007).
  • Handel's Messiah The Advent Calendar, podcast series.

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Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series, first published in 2024)

• SOURCES:
  • Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
  • Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
  • Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
  • Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.

• RESOURCES:
  • "How Macy’s CEO Tony Spring Is Turning the Retailer Around," by Suzanne Kapner (The Wall Street Journal, 2025).
  • “NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights,” by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
  • “How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and Lost,” by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022).
  • An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.

• EXTRAS:
  • “Can the Macy’s Parade Save Macy’s?” series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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The iconic department store calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker — at least we think it is: when it comes to parade economics, Macy’s is famously tight-lipped. In this 2024 episode, we try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • John Cheney, carpenter at Macy’s Studios.
  • Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
  • Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
  • Kevin Lynch, vice president of global helium at Messer.
  • Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials for NBCUniversal Entertainment.
  • Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.
  • Jessica Tisch, New York City police commissioner, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation.
  • Dawn Tolson, executive director of Citywide Event Coordination and Management and the Street Activity Permit Office for the City of New York.

• RESOURCES:
  • Macy’s: The Store. The Star. The Story., by Robert M. Grippo (2009).
  • History of Macy’s of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store, by Ralph M. Hower (1943).
  • Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Helium," by The Economics of Everyday Things (2024).

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