Real Time 1960s

In this first installment of a 2-part episode, we cover the top individual athletic performances of 1961. Today: Wilt Chamberlain, Roger Maris, and Whitey Ford. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! 

President Kennedy confronts a reporter; Governor Brown ridicules Richard Nixon; Malcolm X debates Bayard Rustin; twenty-eight East Germans escape to freedom; the President endorses milk; two baseball legends are headed to the Hall of Fame. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! 

President Kennedy defends his civil rights record; Secretary Rusk heads to South America; thousands of women protest nuclear fallout; Senator Goldwater preaches conservatism; Malcolm X preaches racial separation; John Wayne signs on to a World War II epic. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! 

In this second installment of a series on 1961, we cover the 2 most horrifying front-page crimes committed in the U.S. that year: a cross-country kill spree by a pair of ex-soldiers and the massacre on the yacht Bluebelle. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 1 In this Episode: - Latham and York [2:30] - Murderer Charles Starkweather [6:51] - Notorious random...

President Kennedy gets a warm welcome in Venezuela; Dr. Martin Luther King is jailed in Georgia; Adolf Eichmann is sentenced in Jerusalem; the President sends a Christmas message to Berlin; the Army sends war dogs to South Vietnam; and a Hollywood film premiere in a Cold War hot spot. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! 

Enjoy this first installment of a series on 1961. Today: the rise of the NFL, the Twist, the switch from black-and-white to color TV, Ingmar Bergman, the fear of nuclear war, Aretha Franklin and more. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  Link to 1961, pt. 2 In this Episode: - Bergman's "Through a Glass Darkly" [1:47] - The South trending Republican [13:19] - The Twist [1...

A chimpanzee orbits the earth in a Project Mercury space capsule; a mob attacks five Freedom Riders at a Mississippi bus station; President Kennedy responds to reports of low morale among Reservists; Governor Rockefeller's son is missing; the CIA has a new Director; and 19-year-old heavyweight Cassius Clay has his eye on the crown. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and...

In Seattle, President Kennedy speaks out on the Cold War; Congolese soldiers murder 13 U.N. peacekeepers; the National Security Council approves the President's Vietnam policy; a young girl is rescued after drifting in the Atlantic for 82 hours; singer Ray Charles is arrested; gangster Joseph Gallo is found guilty; Speaker Sam Rayburn is dead. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this p...

The Soviets explode the most powerful weapon ever created; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gets a mixed reception in Great Britain; President Kennedy hits the campaign trail; former Vice President Nixon gives Governor Rockefeller some advice; and a very good week for the man who caught Roger Maris's 61st home run ball. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your su...

President Kennedy speaks out on the Berlin crisis; General Maxwell Taylor is headed to South Vietnam; Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie charges racial discrimination in Kansas City; Open warfare between rival factions of the New York underworld; Chico Marx is dead. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! 

Sixty years after "The Hustler" was released, Joe Rubenstein reveals personal observations and fascinating facts about the production, director, and cast of this riveting drama, starring Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and Jackie Gleason. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  In this Episode: Director's background [2:18] Synopsis [8:07] Newman's reaction to sc...

In this second installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein takes an in-depth look at the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and its many repercussions. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  Link to pt. 1 In this Episode: What went wrong [1:44] Supporters and detractors [9:06] When & why RFK became the de facto V.P. [12:32] When & why JFK installed a taping system [13:11...

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the evolution of the C.I.A. plan to invade Cuba and topple Premier Fidel Castro. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2 In this Episode: A 1954 model for the Bay of Pigs invasion [1:43] The increasing friction between the U.S. and Castro [6:16] How Cuba impacted the 1960 presidential...

In this second installment of a 2-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein discusses 3 of Steve McQueen's best films of the '60s -- "Nevada Smith" (1965), "The Sand Pebbles" (1966), and "Bullitt" (1968) -- and then ranks his top 10 films overall. Tons of behind-the-scenes trivia and analysis. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to Pt. 1 In this Episode: "Nevada Smith" [1:2...

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the action-packed early life of Steve McQueen and discusses three of his best films of the 1960s: "The Magnificent Seven," "The Great Escape," and "The Cincinnati Kid." Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2 In this Episode: McQueen as first crossover star from TV to movies [0:49] Tr...

In this final installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein tells the story of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's capture by Israeli operatives in Argentina and the Nazi war criminal's trial, sentence, and execution. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 1 In this Episode: The Israeli plan to kidnap Eichmann [2:13] The snatch, holding him prisoner, tra...

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the life and crimes of Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann, his years as a fugitive in Germany and Argentina, and the effort to bring this Nazi war criminal to justice. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2 In this Episode: Eichmann's early years in the Nazi party [1:03] Two critical...

David Pietrusza, author of "1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies," joins the show for a discussion of the latter stages of the 1960 race. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to Part 1 In this Episode: Nixon's campaign mistakes [8:12] Did JFK's Catholicism hurt or help him? [11:29] JFK's restricted usage of LBJ [15:51] RFK's r...

Host Joe Rubenstein explains why 3 "Twilight Zone" episodes from 1960 are a cut above the rest. Deep analysis, fascinating trivia, and at the end, a few runners-up. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  In this Episode: Rod Serling's work before "The Twilight Zone" [1:43] "A World of Difference," S1, Ep. 3, aired 3/11/60 [8:00] "The Big Tall Wish," S1, Ep. 27, aired 4/8/6...

Sixty years after "Psycho" terrorized moviegoers, Joe Rubenstein takes a deep dive into Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  In this Episode: Hitchcock's motivations in making the film [4:12] His brilliant marketing campaign [14:03] All about the shower scene [20:07] Goofs [23:07] Bernard Herrmann's musical genius [31:42] Insane Oscar...

Dr. Gary Donaldson, author of "The First Modern Campaign: Kennedy, Nixon, and the Election of 1960," joins the show to discuss the early stages of the 1960 Presidential campaign. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!  In this Episode: What the Republican party looked like in 1960 [2:45] Eisenhower's attitude toward Nixon [5:04] Why the left wing wasn't enthused about JFK [...