Uncategorized – Inside the Box: The TV History Podcast

Jonathan discusses the current Hollywood labor strike and attempts to contextualize it through a historical lens.

This week join Andrew and Jonathan as they give you the hard sell on the history of TV pitchmen. We go a little into the history of salesmanship on television, the self-imposed and government regulations, and each of us discuss our favorite local and infomercial-based pitchmen. Be sure to act now; operators are standing by and supplies ARE limited.

How the heck did a 1950s comedy legend get a shot at usurping Johnny Carson some 23 years AFTER his career peak? Join Jonathan as he discusses the three incarnations of The Jerry Lewis Show and in particular the June 1984 5-episode test-run for the third, and final, incarnation.

This week Andrew and Steve school Jonathan on appreciating the rare delicacy that is Richard Dean Anderson's MacGyver. What lies at the heart of the show's appeal?

In honor of Mr. Minow's birthday (01/17), we're re-releasing our interview with the former FCC Chair. Joining us from his office in Chicago, we discuss the role of television in presidential debates, his decisions that supported the rise of PBS, and of course, his famous “vast wasteland” speech.

This week Jonathan sits down with San Diego State University's Dr. Brian Hu about his article, "Bruce Lee" after Bruce Lee: A Life in Conjectures. Then in the second half of the interview Jonathan asks Brian's opinion about a question Jonathan has been toying with: Will the powers that be, attempt to mold late actor Chadwick Boseman's (1976-2020) legacy and image in much the same way film studios' attempted to do so with Bruce Lee (1940-1973)?