New Books in American Studies

In Sesame Street: A Transnational History (Oxford UP, 2023), author Helle Strandgaard Jensen tells the story of how the American television show became a global brand. Jensen argues that because the show's domestic production was not financially viable from the beginning, Sesame Street became a commodity that its producers assertively marketed all over the world. Sesame Street: A Transnational History combines archival research from seven countries, bolstering an insightful analysis of how local reception and rejection of the show related to the global sales strategies and American ideals it was built upon.Contrary to the producers’ oft-publicized claims of Sesame Street’s universality, the show was heavily shaped by a fixed set of assumptions about childhood, education, and commercial entertainment. This made sales difficult as Sesame Street met both skepticism and direct hostility from foreign television producers who did not share these ideals. Drawing on insights from new histories about childhood, education, and transnational media, the book lays bare a cultural clash of international proportions rooted in divergent approaches to children's television. In doing so, it provides a reflective backdrop to the many ongoing debates about children's media.In contrasting the positive receptions and renunciations of Sesame Street, Jensen demonstrates that it was only after a substantial rethinking of Sesame Street’s aims and business model that this program ended up on numerous broadcasting schedules by the mid-1970s. Along the way, this rethinking and the constant negotiations with potential international buyers created and shaped the business and corporate brand that paved the way for the Sesame Street we know today.Peter C. Kunze is a visiting assistant professor of communication at Tulane University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt’s deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In On Microfascism: Gender, War, and Death (Common Notions, 2022) Dr. Jack Z. Bratich explores the cultural elements in American society that support fascism. Microfascism appears in many aspects of culture engaging consumers to think of others and their own self in ways that extend fascism into everyday life while constantly adapting to cultural and political change. Beyond the cultural aspects of microfascism, Bratich also explores how it organizes seemingly unrelated groups who, at times, work together for specific actions aimed at furthering fascist political goals. By looking at the specifically gendered formations of microfascism, Bratich shows the misogyny at the core of the larger fascist project that is geared to “eliminate” those needed to fulfill the “restoration” of some past glory. On Microfascism combines insights from fascism studies and cultural studies scholarship with contemporary examples from current events and popular culture to show the microfascism embedded in American society, already primed for violence. But even though this microfascism can be found throughout American culture and politics, Brartich argues that it is fragile and can be countered with micro-antifascism. Due to the misogyny at the core of fascism and microfascism, political and cultural movements grounded in feminism are the places to most effectively perform micro-antifascism. Jack Z. Bratich is a Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University. You can find his work at Researchgate. You can find a transcript of our conversation here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In Home Work: Gender, Child Labor, and Education for Girls in Urban America, 1870-1930 (U Chicago Press, 2025) historian Ruby Oram tells the story of how middle-class, white women reformers lobbied the state to implement various public education reforms to shape the lives of girls and women in industrial cities between 1870 and 1930. Women such as Jane Addams and Florence Kelley used education reform to target working-class communities and advocate for their middle-class ideals of girlhood and femininity, which could vary depending on the racial or socio-economic backgrounds of the girls. For example, reformers generally encouraged white girls to care for their future families, while pushing Black girls toward becoming domestic workers in others’ homes. Using Chicago as a case study, Oram also explores how many of the reforms sought by white women were in response to evolving anxieties about immigration, health, and sexual delinquency.An illuminating addition to the history of urban education in America, Home Work enriches our understanding of educational inequality in twentieth-century schools. Allie Morris (aemorris5@wisc.edu) is a joint Ph.D. student in Educational Policy Studies and History at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She broadly studies gender, age, and education in the late 20th-century United States. Her current research focuses on the political history of girlhood from the 1960s to the 1990s, examining girls’ culture and activism in the American high school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Elizabeth Suhay, a political scientist and professor at American University, delves into how beliefs about the American Dream have become polarized along political lines. She reveals that skepticism about the Dream is mainly found among Democrats, while Republicans largely maintain their faith in it. Suhay discusses how party identity shapes perceptions of inequality and highlights demographic factors like race and education in optimism levels. She also explores how narratives about fairness differ between parties and the impact of Trump's messaging on these beliefs.

Joel S. Wit, a distinguished fellow in Asian security studies and former U.S. State Department official, dives deep into the complex history of U.S.-North Korea negotiations. He reveals how six presidents approached this issue and highlights the critical failures under Obama and Trump, leading to North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Wit shares insights from over 300 interviews, dispelling myths about Kim Jong Un and emphasizing the importance of strategic empathy. He warns against complacency as new regional tensions rise, urging for a realistic and diplomatic approach to a nuclear North Korea.

Trymaine Lee, an Emmy and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MSNBC contributor, shares powerful insights from his book, 'A Thousand Ways to Die.' He discusses the profound impact of gun violence on Black life in America, shaped by his personal experiences and family history. Lee reflects on the emotional burden of storytelling, the complexities of balancing family privacy with public truths, and the deep connections between historical injustices and contemporary issues. He emphasizes the need for systemic understanding over individual blame, celebrating the resilience of Black communities.

Dr. Colin Williamson, a film historian and assistant professor at the University of Oregon, explores the fascinating connections between animation and science in his upcoming book. He discusses how Disney’s Fantasia drew on scientific ideas and how animators like Winsor McCay reflected cultural debates surrounding themes like eugenics and Darwinian evolution. Williamson reveals how the interplay of nature and industrialization shaped American cartoons and previews his next project on mid-century animation landscapes.

Dr. Rebecca Jumper Matheson, a fashion historian and author, explores the innovative contributions of Elizabeth and William Phelps to American fashion. Dedicated to sustainability long before it was trendy, the Phelps crafted durable leather goods and functional sportswear in a humane workshop environment. Matheson discusses their unique partnership, the challenges of her research, and how WWII reshaped American fashion. She connects the Phelpses' legacy to broader themes of craftsmanship, identity, and the enduring nature of American-made luxury.

It is impossible to deny the impact of lies and white supremacy on the institutional conditions in US prisons. There is a particular power dynamic of racist intent in the prison system that culminates in what Brittany Friedman terms "carceral apartheid." Prisons are a microcosm of how carceral apartheid operates as a larger governing strategy to decimate political targets and foster deceit, disinformation, and division in society. Among many shocking discoveries, Friedman shows that beginning in the 1950s, California prison officials declared war on imprisoned Black people and sought to identify Black militants as a key problem, creating a strategy for the management, segregation, and elimination of these individuals from the prison population that continues into the present day. Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White Supremacists Run Our Prisons (UNC Press, 2025), delves into how the California Department of Corrections deployed various official, clandestine, and at times extralegal control techniques, including officer alliances with imprisoned white supremacists, to suppress Black political movements, revealing the broader themes of deception, empire, corruption, and white supremacy in American mass incarceration. Drawing from original interviews with founders of Black political movements such as the Black Guerilla Family, white supremacists, and a swath of little-known archival data, Friedman uncovers how the US domestic war against imprisoned Black people models and perpetuates genocide, imprisonment, and torture abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies