The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is well-known as the home of the Star Spangled Banner, Abraham Lincoln’s Hat, and perhaps most of all, Archie Bunker’s chair from All in the Family. It might seem absurd at first, but television comedy has become an essential mover of American history, bringing the wider world into our living rooms and shaping perceptions of politics, social change, and our fellow citizens.

The museum’s entertainment curator Ryan Lintelman will share his thoughts on the history of the sitcom and the importance of comedy in American life in a multimedia presentation with photographs and video clips from some significant television programs. Lintelman cares for the national collection of entertainment history and is currently writing a book titled Laughing Matters: How Comedy Shaped American History.