Hagley History Hangout

In this episode of the Hagley History Hangout, Roger Horowitz interviews Rebecca Kobrin about her new book, Credit to the Nation: Eastern European Jewish Immigrant Bankers and American Finance 1873-1930. From the publisher: "What are immigrants to do when business opportunities abound in their new home, but banks refuse essential financial support? How could they make the journey in the first plac...

Images of bathers have recurred in art through the ages, and their depictions tell us something about attitudes toward human bodies, sex, gender, cleanliness, and much more. In his dissertation research, art historian Jay Buchanan, PhD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis, analyses images of bathers in bathtubs, swimming pools, beaches, and bathhouses to understand the changing cultural...

Does a strong economy serve the interests of the few or the many? The policy pendulum has swung in either direction over the long term. In his new book, The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1865-1981, Dr. Daniel Wortel-London, visiting assistant professor at Bard College, explores the debates over economic development strategies that raged in New York...

Geophysics, or the study of Earth using the tools and methods of physics, is often understood to have begun in the post-WWII period. However, the period between the world wars saw ferment and innovation in the field, and the emergence of the term geophysics itself. In his latest research, Dr. Erik Isberg, postdoctoral researcher at the KTH Institute of Technology and the University of Copenhagen,...

What happens when industrial towns lose their defining industries? How do the remaining communities and infrastructures find meaning and a future among the postindustrial remains. The key often lies in heritagization, the process by which certain aspects of the past are identified, preserved, and presented as heritage. In her dissertation research, Julia Silva de Medeiros, associate researcher at...

Iowa State University historian Simon Cordery talks about his recently published biography of Albert Pullman with Hagley’s Ben Spohn. From the publisher: “Simon Cordery's Gilded Age Entrepreneur illuminates the fascinating and chaotic business world of Albert Pullman. The influential but little-known older brother of George Pullman and the craftsman of the family, Albert designed the first luxurio...

The overtly intimate relationship between tech industry leaders and politicians is on frequent display in newspapers and on screens today. In an international context, this builds on a long history of corporate involvement in shaping favorable policy. In his latest research, André Dao, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne, traces the long history of IBM and its predecessor the Tabula...

The mid-twentieth century emergence of the black middle class in the United States reshaped American society, consumer markets, and even the bodies of African Americans. In her dissertation project, Melina Haberl, PhD candidate at Florida International University, is researching the health and diet culture of African American women in the 1970s and ‘80s. Using several Hagley Library collections, i...

In her new book, Black Power Inc.: Corporate America and the Rise of Multinational Empowerment Politics Jessica Ann Levy traces Black empowerment’s rise in 20th century American politics and its contradictions as a form of African American political activity. By closely following minister Leon Sullivan in his influential and varied career, Levi shows how white and Black businesspeople and governme...

Americans had established schools, hospitals, and businesses in China prior to the 1949 triumph of the Communists under Mao. What would be the fate of these institutions and their staff under the new dispensation? In his latest research, Dr. Sanjiao Tang, fellow at the National Library of Australia, explores the actions and reactions of Americans facing the advent of the People’s Republic of China...

New York City was the focus of the early American television industry. In TV’s early years NYC had the highest concentration of television sets, viewers, broadcasters, and infrastructure. In NYC many Americans had their first encounter with TV. In his latest book project, Dr. Richard Popp, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, tunes into the tangled relationship between...

Film has played a role in America’s world’s fairs since the 1893 Chicago exhibition where a horse galloping was the big cinematic draw. In her latest book project, Dr. Dominique Bregent-Heald, professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, explores the history of film at American world’s fairs, such as the educational and industrial films shown by corporate sponsors. These spectacles were c...

Infrastructure projects have frequently generated controversies in American history, and railroads in particular have been the cause of many a political fracas. In her latest project, journalist and independent scholar Elizabeth Moore is uncovering the history of controversies over the Long Island Railroad. The politics are complex and multi-layered. From hyper-local concerns about noise, safety,...

Nitrogen feeds both war and peace, represents both fecundity and strength, and accordingly, nitrogen capture technology gained a symbolic potency in the ideologically charged atmosphere of fascist Italy. In her latest research, Dr. Rebecca Falkoff, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, is uncovering the story of nitrogen capture in fascist Italy and considering what it can tell...

In this episode we interview Mark Aldrich about his new book, The Rise and Fall of King Coal: American Energy Transitions in an Age of Markets, 1800-1940. From the publisher: “A history of the dynamic role of coal in the energy landscape of the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In The Rise and Fall of King Coal, Mark Aldrich explores the pivotal role of coal in the histo...

Ginseng is the “emperor of plants,” celebrated in traditional Chinese medicine as a sovereign remedy for diverse ailments and promoter of longevity. The introduction of American ginseng to the Chinese market in the late-eighteenth century found a vast market of eager consumers. In her dissertation project, Audrey Ke Zhao, PhD candidate at the University of California – Santa Cruz, is exploring the...

From the eighteenth-century Moravians singing hymns on communal farms, to twentieth-century steelworkers laboring in blazing furnaces, to twenty-first century healthcare and warehouse workers cutting loose at Musikfest, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has moved to many beats. In her latest project, Dr. Kimberly Andrews, associate professor at the University of Ottawa, investigates the history of Bethlehem...

Working parents rely on childcare infrastructure, and as working parent became an ever-larger proportion of the American workforce from the 1960s onward, the lack of accessible, affordable, quality childcare became a major political and cultural issue. In her dissertation research, Julia Fournier, PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, traces the history of childcare in...

In this episode we interview Janick Marina Schaufelbuehl about her new book Crusading for Globalization: US Multinationals and Their Opponents Since 1945. From the publisher: “The first book to shed light on what caused corporate executives to pursue a pro-globalization agenda over the last eight decades. Crusading for Globalization tells the story of an extraordinarily influential group of busine...

The United States drug tests its citizens more than any other country and ties the rights one enjoys, rights to keep one’s baby, to do one’s job, or to vote or move freely, to the results of a given drug test. While Americans lead the world in drug consumption, they also lead the world in drug testing. In her latest book project, Dr. Laura Browder, professor at the University of Richmond, uncovers...

Innovation plays a role in the beauty and fashion industry as it does in any line of business. New products, new techniques, and new markets animate the industry, and punctuate its history. In her latest book project, Dr. Denise Sutton, associate professor at the City University of New York, examines several case studies in fashion and beauty innovation. From ready-to-wear apparel for pregnant wom...

Businesses tell stories about themselves, in their advertising, in their marketing, and in their corporate biographies. Official or authorized histories of corporations form a distinctive thread in the literature in business history. In his latest book project, Dr. Lee McGuigan, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, is researching the official corporate history as a distinctive...

American labor unions struggled to adjust to the changing dynamics of the world economy during the mid-to-late twentieth century. Charting this complex process is Dr. Melanie Sheehan, assistant professor of history at Hartwick College and recent Hagley-NEH postdoctoral fellow. Sheehan has discovered that during the post-WWII moment, union economists supported trade liberalization as a means of mul...

Building international cooperation is a slow, painstaking process, one made more difficult when some people don’t see the need for it. To businesses, however, international cooperation is positively necessary as a means to secure intellectual property rights, market share, and profit opportunities. In his dissertation research, Joël Praz, PhD student at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne...

Our previously scheduled episode featuring Alessandra La Rocca Link has been postponed. In lieu of which, we present this recording made during the Hagley Author Talk featuring David Suisman hosted on February 27th, 2025 by the Hagley Museum and Library. Suisman discusses his latest book, "Instrument of War: Music and the Making of America's Soldiers." From the publisher: "Since the Civil War, mus...