Across the land listeners answered our call to rethink these American symbols. Pop music critic Will Hermes suggests replacements for the national anthem. Kate Bingaman-Burt enlists her design students to take part in our Uncle Sam Redesign Challenge. And design writer Alissa Walker picks a winner.

This Sunday is the 234th birthday of the United States of America, and across the nation people will be watching baseball, illegally shooting off fireworks, eating apple pie, and generally swelling with patriotic pride.  And on radio stations across the land, Studio 360 will modestly proffer a new national anthem ...

I’m as patriotic as the next guy.  But this morning on the subway, I couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated by the sight of our national mascot peddling fast cash. Uncle Sam, how could you?  Playing into our all-American desires to get rich quick and bling ourselves silly. That’s why Studio 360 proposed ...

Thanks to all the listeners who heeded our call to redesign Uncle Sam and made videos of their new National Anthems. We were impressed and honored.

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Sometimes we cling tightly to things we deem 'traditional' without realizing they're not as deeply entrenched in our history as we thought. Take Uncle Sam: he hasn't changed much since J. M. Flagg's iconic World War I recruitment poster, in which he appeared as an older white man wearing a snazzy ...

Studio 360 has a summer project in the works and we need your help: we're redesigning the Fourth of July. Don't worry, it's not a complete gutting.  We're keeping the red, white, and blue, the cookouts, and the fireworks.  But there are a couple of elements that we think can use some sprucing up.