New Season – Inside the Box: The TV History Podcast

This week join Andrew, Steve, and Jonathan as they hangout, chat, and close out this season's worth of episodes of Inside the Box: The TV History Podcast. They'll probably also talk a little bit about holiday TV programming and make a few New Year's resolutions as well.

Join as Steve continues his interview with TV producer, Joe Gannon, in part two of this two-part episode about his experiences working with actor Carroll O'Connor on In The Heat of the Night (1988-1995) and how the industry has changed from Gannon's perspective.

Join Steve as he interviews TV producer, Joe Gannon, in part one of this two-part episode about his experiences working with actor Carroll O'Connor and the significant effect O'Connor had on Gannon's career as a producer.

This week join Jonathan in conversation with Dr. Kendall Phillips about his recent book, Kolchak, The Night Stalker, a part of Wayne State University Press's Milestones series. Don't worry, Steve Voorhees is here too to comment on our conversation that includes ideas including: "Where was horror at in the U.S. by the late 1960s / early 1970s?", Kolchak's trio of creatives behind the scenes, Kolcha...

This week join Jonathan and Steve in conversation with fellow academic, David Brokaw to discuss his new book, Monsters on Maple Street: The Twilight Zone and the Postwar American Dream. We discuss the false dichotomy between "good writing" and "bad television" during the 1950s, the psychology of advertising within 1950s culture, the effect Rod Serling's service during World War II had on his later...

This week join Steve and Jonathan in conversation with television writer and producer, Stan Zimmerman. Listen as Stan talks about writing for the first season of The Golden Girls, writing that VERY famous episode of Roseanne that got the country talking, and what it was like to work for his friend, Amy Sherman-Palladino, writing on Gilmore Girls. Stan also discusses what it takes to make it in a t...

This week join Jonathan and Steve as we commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks by speaking with Dr. Paul Arras (SUNY: Cortland) about his new book, American Television's Live Coverage of the 9/11 Attacks: Journalism on the Screen (Rowman & Littlefield).

Join Jonathan for a short episode that explains the end of this podcast season and what to look forward to in the future and when.

This week join Steve and Jonathan as we usher in the holidays by discussing Christmas TV shows with author and expert, Joanna Wilson. Be sure to check out Joanna's website: http://www.christmastvhistory.com/p/about-joanna-wilson.html for all the information you need about her multiple media appearances, articles, and books on the topic of Christmas on TV!

As a way to pay tribute to recently passed television producer Norman Lear (1922-2023), this week join Steve and Jonathan as they discuss the groundbreaking US sitcom, All In The Family. Why it worked, in what ways is it a product of the 1970s and in what ways is it timeless? We'll even tip-toe toward whether the show could be re-done today to address our newest president…

This week join Steve in conversation with welcomed returned guest, Dr. Craig Coenen as they discuss the current state of Regional Sports Networks in the U.S.

In this episode Andrew, Steve, and Jonathan discuss David Sarnoff’s introduction of television for RCA at the 1939 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows NY. Tune in to listen to this story about hope, the future, and looking for the “World of Tomorrow” during a time between economic depression and the cusp of world war. You might just learn something and have a few laughs along the way. Be sure to chec...

Inspired by a real Jeopardy episode's jokey category title, this week Jonathan and Steve discuss a hypothetical: what if The DuMont Network had survived past 1956? What would the channel have presented? Would we associate the NFL and DuMont like peanut and jelly? If it did survive for decades, what would its streaming service be showing us today?

This week join Jonathan as he discusses a famous example of politicians using television for marathon "sales" pitches (for themselves) - Thomas E. Dewey's 1950 usage of the then-new medium of television.

This week join Steve as he leads Jonathan through a discussion of representations of The Myth of the Lost Cause on 1960s U.S. television. Shows discussed include: Dennis the Menace, Rawhide, The Twilight Zone, The Americans, and The Rebel.

Two years later, Dr. Emil Steiner (Rowan University) returns to the program to discuss binge-watching with Jonathan and Steve. Whereas last time we primarily discussed sports documentaries, this time it is today's popular mode of viewership, binge-watching - which is also the subject of Dr. Steiner's new book Binge TV: The Rise and Impact of the Viewing Revolution (McFarland).

On this week's mini-episode Jonathan discusses the current state of podcasts and how it connects to the pre-history of radio over one-hundred years ago.

Join us as Steve and Jonathan continue their conversation with Dr. Craig Coenen about the 1978 NBC mini-series Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss. Where does the mini-series fall within the context of Americans' understanding of the Jewish Holocaust? How was the mini-series received? How does the late-1970s network context of big, prestige mini-series play into its creation? All this and a l...

Join Steve and Jonathan in conversation with Dr. Craig Coenen about the 1978 NBC mini-series Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss. Where does the mini-series fall within the context of Americans' understanding of the Jewish Holocaust? How was the mini-series received? How does the late-1970s network context of big, prestige mini-series play into its creation? All this and a lot more in Part 01...

This week join Andrew as he leads a discussion with Steve and Jonathan about how TV was used not before, not after, but during World War II. Contrary to popular belief the then new medium was at least thought about as another technology to be harnessed during the war effort. We also discuss how the rudimentary uses of TV in the immediate post-war era is surprisingly similar to how we use it today.

Tune-in and listen to a brief history of the Time-Life Music line of releases and hear Jonathan's theory about how and why we got to one of the best Time-Life Music releases - if you consider the TV commercial - CLASSICAL THUNDER!

Join us for the first episode of our brand new season! Jonathan and Steve sit down to discuss the prevalence of NFL high-scoring games and ask what role media has played in this current and evolving situation. They also provide historical context both for the game and the league's relationship to TV and other media.

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

Join Jonathan for an infamous TV show from 1969 that really should just be famous for being innovative, clever, surreal, with the good intention of trying to speak some truth to power. It is a short introduction / interpretation of Turn On! Episode 2.

It is all about the tension between the old and the new in today's mini-episode. Join Jonathan as he discusses three recent history-focused TV programs: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+, 2022-present), Call Me Kate (Netflix, 2023), and Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Netflix, 2023).