What stories can comic strips tell in a way that nothing else can? Dr. Blake Scott Ball explains in his book, "Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts," how Charles Schultz famed comic strip not only reached Americans in a way few others have, but also told the country's story when his readers were least expecting it. Dr. Ball argues Schultz used Charlie Brown as a vehicle to take on the most sensitive topics of the second half of the twentieth century. From race, poverty, disease, war and mental health, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Franklin were always there to make readers think while they were being entertained. We also chatted with Dr. Ball about his current study of Batman, and why super heroes still hold a place in our imagination.

Dr. Ball is on social media here

"Charlie Brown's America" is available from Oxford University Press here

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