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Founded in 1924, the Daily Worker – which ceased to be a daily 50 years ago – was the de facto house organ of American Communism. Historian Vernon Pedersen says the paper was strident and ideological, yes, but also an important cultural artifact.
In the 1950s, the mainstream American press had very little experience covering segregation and its impacts. In The Race Beat, Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff tell the story of how the civil rights struggle gradually made its way onto the front pages.
Nearly a century ago, Aimee Semple McPherson became the model of the modern, self-made media sensation. In a biography, Matthew Avery Sutton argues that ‘Sister’ Aimee’s savvy brand of religion brought Christian evangelicalism into the mainstream.
The AK-47, one of Russia’s most popular exports, turned 60 this year. Michael Hodges, author of AK47: The Story of the People’s Gun, says that the weapon Mikhail Kalashnikov invented to defend his motherland has become a symbol of Third World revolutionary struggle and Islamic jihad.
For over 50 years, outlaw American radio broadcasters exploited a legal loophole and aired powerful pirate radio from the Mexican side of the border. So called ‘border blasters’ - or ‘X stations’ - were true innovators whose influence continues to be felt today. OTM’s Jamie York tells the story.
High school history textbooks have long been the subject of controversy both within and between nations. Which is why they’re now the subject of a comparative analysis project by Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center. Associate director Daniel Sneider says that we’re creating separate memories of the past.
New York Times reporter William L. Laurence was a firsthand witness to the development of the atomic bomb, which he agreed to keep secret until Fat Man was deployed over Nagasaki (which he also saw firsthand). Author David Goodman explains that that wasn’t the only secret Laurence kept.
From Aunt Jemima to the Frito Bandito, there’s a long tradition of racially-fraught spokescharacters in American food marketing. Reporter David Segal says that Uncle Ben is really an Uncle Tom, despite his recent promotion.
