Some Pulp

What was it like discovering comic books in the 1950s and 60s? Learn why Bruce favored DC Comics over pre-rebirth Marvel, his fascination with superhero origin stories, and what the first superhero tv shows were like. Finally, learn the fate of Bruce's sizeable collection of Golden and Silver Age comics.

In cinema, robots have been our friends, our helpers, or our enemies and destroyers. This episode is a deep dive into how robots have been depicted in tv and film, including such classics as The Day The Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, and Kronos, to the Jetsons, Twilight Zone, and eventually George Lucas' Star Wars.

Tracing its roots in German Expressionism and other sources, we examine the development of Noir as a genre in American cinema, including the careers of Roy Huggins and David Janssen, television shows like The Fugitive and Richard Diamond, Private Detective, and the expansion and lasting impact of noir today, including films such as Blade Runner, Dark City and the work of the Coen Brothers.

How did baseball come to be America's national pastime? Also, a deep look at how and why radio dominated professional sports in the mid-century, and why baseball is still the sport of the future.

An examination of the genesis of 'talk shows' in the 1950s and 60s and how they have evolved into the panoply of shows airing virtually round the clock.

1950’s Narnia-fantasist C. S. Lewis distrusted film’s ability to render a story well, convinced it short-circuited the imagination. Here’s why--and what may have changed his mind if he’d lived a little longer.

A discussion of the revolution in music delivery and listener access in the transition from the 50s to the 60s.

An analysis of three iconic TV westerns from the 1960s (Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Maverick) and the demise of their genre.

In this first issue we look at the phenomenon of a half-hour TV drama program that debuted in 1959 on the CBS television network, Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Special guests Justin & Michael Edwards join the conversation.