The PR campaign that help sink a war hero’s presidential ambitions Written by: Jeff Rodriguez, Historian People often discuss politics using military terms. We refer to “campaigns” and “war chests,” or lament, “But we can’t count on the French.” Coincidentally, one of the more memorable recent political PR campaigns involved military service—particularly, that of John […]
Over the years, seat belt PR campaigns have helped save thousands of lives–despite our objections. Written by: Jeff Rodriguez, Historian This month’s column has some loose ends. For one, our research team has had a hard time confirming some specific dates. And two, our topic is seat belts–loose ones, to be exact. Up until recently, […]
When President Kennedy found himself in a deep hole, he started digging. Written by: Jeff Rodriguez, Historian This month, we take a break from the stress and controversy of the pandemic to talk about something lighter, like um, racial inequality. While it has been a topic of much discussion in recent weeks, it was also […]
Written by: Jeff Rodriguez, Historian Doris Fleischman didn’t really want to make a name for herself; she just wanted to keep the one she already had. Born in 1891, the talented wordsmith had honed her skills at Barnard College, where, in her spare time, she lettered in three sports and studied both psychiatry and music. […]
Written by: Jeff Rodriguez, Historian A government shutdown is no laughing matter. But government work can be pretty funny, and that was the case in February 1964, when the FBI launched a major investigation into … a song. “Louie Louie” was a demo record cut by in one take by the Kingsmen, a second-tier band. […]