Movie History

Historians still agree about the date of Columbus' voyage. But did this European adventurer discover America? We now know that certain explorers from other parts of the globe set foot on American shores long before 1492: and that others may have done so. And "discovery" takes on a different meaning when the new land already has people living in it.

Journalist Rick Bowers has contributed to Time, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and his fascinating Spies of Mississippi—about the spy network that tried to take down the Civil Rights Movement—earned a starred review from Booklist. Here, Bowers examines how, in the late 1940s, The Adventures of Superman radio show struck a powerful blow to the Ku Klux Klan when Superman aired episodes pitting the hero against the Klan in an effort to teach young listeners to stand up to bigotry.

Wealth, indulgence, and a Gatsby-like aesthetic: This is what comes to mind when one thinks of the Roaring Twenties. This revolutionary decade marked the end of the American Gilded Age, a period of sustained economic growth which led to a booming marketplace. After World War I, Americans had more money to spend, and mass production rose to meet the emerging wealth. This was the era of Broadway and bootleggers, new cars and Al Capone, mass culture and money, money, money. However, it was also the prelude to the Great Depression.