Reverb Effect

Since Donald Trump stepped into the political spotlight, many have likened him to Archie Bunker, star character of the 1970s sitcom  All in the Family . The comparisons were based on the crude demeanor, the vulgarity, and the racist and misogynistic views. The comparison seems apt. While the two men certainly shared some unfavorable characteristics, many of those who made the comparison focused on...

Los Angeles's international reputation was on the line. As they prepared to host millions of visitors to the city for the 1984 Olympic Games, planners expressed their anxieties about one issue in particular—crime. To ensure a successful, safe event, planners opted for a massive display of police power. As athletes, spectators, and press from around the world arrived in the city, they would be watc...

Migrant detention at the US border is not new. While it's become common in 2020 to hear of the incarceration of men, women, and children at the border attached to the current administration, these policies have been in development for the past 40 years. Over time we've seen the shifting legal, political and cultural definitions for people who arrive from Central America and Cuba. We've seen the tr...

Matt Villeneuve details the simultaneous intrigue and frustration that comes from discovering an interesting source with minimal detail. He explains the winding path of constructing a story—from the mysterious nature of a single clue to the sometimes serendipitous breakthroughs of the archive. The clue was a note, tucked away in a digitized letter, referencing a 1969 illustration of an indigenous...

Since the 2016 election, use of the term "fake news" has skyrocketed: in media, in political rhetoric, and in the coffee shop or office kitchen. But its presence in the news is not new, nor is Russia's involvement in the story. Dr. Johanna Folland  takes us back into the lifecycle of a "fake news" story from the 1980s, before we referred to such things with that moniker. She tells the story of how...

Historians have long searched for the "voices" of the past, crafting stories past actors might have told from the records they leave behind. They sift through endless boxes of old letters, reports,  memos, maps, photos, blueprints, and testimonies. But what are the chances the historian will hear the literal voice of a historical actor they study? Dr. J. Martin Vest pieces together the history of...

In what ways can a look be unsettling? Intimidating? Might it be dangerous? How does one study the history of an act so fleeting, and so difficult to record? PhD candidate Molly Brookfield studies the history of men's harassment of women in public places, in other words, street harassment. She's interested in behaviors like catcalling or ogling, actions often considered trivial or even complimenta...