By the closing years of the 1960s, the United States found itself confronting an uncomfortable contradiction. The nation was preparing to send astronauts to the Moon, expanding higher education through unprecedented federal investment, and celebrating remarkable advances in science and technology. Yet beneath these achievements lay a persistent problem that
A clock was ticking. When The Northwestern Reviewing Stand devoted its September 14, 1947 broadcast to “Virus Research and Your Health,” it addressed one of the most promising and rapidly evolving fields of postwar medicine. America had emerged victorious from World War II with enormous scientific momentum, and much of
The ever-present concern: Money. When Americans tuned in to American Forum of the Air on September 17, 1950, to hear a debate over price controls, they were listening to one of the most pressing domestic issues of the early Cold War. Only three months earlier, North Korea had invaded South
Adlai Stevenson, address to Illinois University – May 15, 1956. No one more eloquent than Adlai Stevenson and certainly no time more appropriate than now. In the Spring of 1956, America was a nation enjoying prosperity at home but wrestling with uncertainty abroad. The Cold War, barely a decade old,
We baffled the rest of the world when it came to elections. The American Presidential election of 1948 attracted considerable attention throughout Europe, particularly in nations struggling to rebuild democratic institutions after the devastation of World War II. Among the observers was German journalist Eric Reger, editor of the Berlin
In 1948, education in the United States became more than a local concern of school boards and parents; it emerged as a national issue tied directly to democracy, economic stability, and the growing ideological struggle between America and the Soviet Union. In the years immediately following World War II, Americans
Whittaker Chambers Testifying before House Un-American Activities Hearings – Among other things, gave the world “The Pumpkin Papers”. With hearings becoming an almost daily spectacle, with no doubt no stopping anytime soon, it’s good to know neither America nor Capitol Hill find the goings on unusual. Disturbing; yes, but unusual;
Fifth Annual AIDS Conference In Montreal – With a Jumbo Helping Of Protest. Continuing our look at CBS Radio News throughout the years. Newsmark was probably one of the last “Golden Era” documentary series done by the network, and it was a memorable one. CBS Radio’s Newsmark was one of
Portrait of your average law-abiding citizens In the summer of 1948, as Americans gathered to celebrate Independence Day, the radio discussion program Northwestern Reviewing Stand turned to a question that had become increasingly urgent in the early Cold War era: “Just what is a democracy?” The discussion reflected a growing
In May of 1943, with the outcome of the Second World War still uncertain, political thinkers and commentators were already debating the shape of the postwar world. Programs such as the university discussion series Northwestern Reviewing Stand reflected a growing awareness that military victory alone would not guarantee lasting peace.
