Show Notes
What unbelievable and ethically dubious Reality TV concepts made it onto our screens in the 2000s? What was behind Big Brother’s game changing popularity? How did Trump’s time on The Apprentice pave the way for his presidency?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore the latest chapter in the story of Reality TV’s worldwide success.
Email: [email protected]
X: @ThroughTimePod
Blue Sky: @ThroughTimePod
Instagram: @JourneyThroughTimePod
Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden
Producer: Alice Horrell
Head of History: Dom Johnson
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from Journey Through Time
How did the McCarthy-era blacklist impact Hollywood for many decades to come? What happened when McCarthy’s right-hand-man Roy Cohn met a cocky young real estate developer called Donald Trump? Are we still living under McCarthyism? How can we bring it to an end?
What happened when Joseph McCarthy turned his communist-catching energy on the army? What film, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, is viewed as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings? In what ways did the ‘Lavender scare’ subtext influence the investigations into Roy Cohn? What famous line brought down the reputation of this ‘red-scare’ fuelling demagogue?
How did the most celebrated writers and directors in America take aim at McCarthyism in works such as High Noon and The Crucible? Why did Roy Cohn, the man who went on to be Donald Trump’s mentor, get involved in the trials? Despite both men using homophobic language, why are there rumours about McCarthy and Cohn’s sexuality? What is the relevance of this for the trials?
Who is Joseph McCarthy, the young senator who gives his name to these trials? Had Communist agents really infiltrated the US Government? Who were the Rosenbergs, America's most notorious communist couple, executed for giving state secrets to the Soviet Union? Why were American academics forced into exile?
What happened when the House of Un-American Activities Committee started to prosecute some of the biggest names in Hollywood? Who were the infamous ‘Hollywood Ten’? Why did the trial of Alger Hiss, a State Department official, terrify the American public? How did a young Richard Nixon make his name during these trials?