logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
38m 16s

The Superhero - An American Invention

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

On this episode of Our American Stories, the comic book superhero is an American invention. Here to tell the story is WWII historian Jeffrey Johnson, the author of Super-History: Comic Book Superheroes and American Society.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Today
The Time FDR Tried to Change the Date of Thanksgiving
<p>On this episode of Our American Stories, most Americans grew up thinking Thanksgiving had always fallen on the same Thursday in November. In Lincoln&rsquo;s time, it was set on the last Thursday of November, and that habit settled in for generations. Then Franklin D. Roosevelt ... Show More
10m 49s
Today
How My Daughter's Schizophrenia Led Us to Open a Business Run by Special Needs Employees
<p>On this episode of Our American Stories, when Donna&rsquo;s daughter Cassie was diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia, everyday life became harder to manage. Donna realized their family needed a different way to live, something that gave Cassie steady structure and gav ... Show More
9m 29s
Today
Was Eisenhower Really Responsible For Our Interstate Highways?
<p>On this episode of Our American Stories, Eisenhower&rsquo;s name sits on the interstate signs, but Charles Zug wanted to understand whether he truly deserved that place in history. His work traces the creation of the Federal Highway Act and shows how the idea of national road ... Show More
17m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
Amour, violence et censure chez les superhéros
Dans les années 1950, la bande dessinée de superhéros était au banc des accusés, responsable, selon certains psychiatres, du naufrage moral de la jeunesse américaine. La croisade contre les Batman, Superman et Wonder Woman a porté ses fruits et a abouti à une longue censure, sans ... Show More
23m 17s
Dec 2021
130. Superheroes
From their origins in the 1930's running parallel to the rise of fascism in Europe, to the Adam West camp of the 1960's, to the gritty modern reboots - what has made Superheroes a cultural phenomenon, and what mirror does it hold up to society? To sign up to the brand new Rest I ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2015
005: Tudi Marvels From DC
‏Today we host Abdulhameed Sabban (aka Tudi) a comic book aficionado and expert. We start discussing the DC superhero universe and explore the parallels between Superman and the story of the prophet Moses. We then analyze the Fox vs. Marvel war and the reasons behind the bad bloo ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2023
Ramzi Fawaz, "The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics" (NYU Press, 2016)
Today’s guest is Ramzi Fawaz, the Romnes Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Published by NYU Press in 2016, The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics is his first book. In 2022, Ramzi published Queer Forms, for which he ... Show More
1h 23m
Apr 2024
Why Are There So Many Captain Marvels?
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's... "definitely not Superman." At least, that's what Fawcett Comics told the courts, beginning a multigenerational, multiversal saga of strangeness that continues in the modern day. In today's episode, the guys ask: Why are ther ... Show More
53m 11s
May 2024
Thomas Nast, Part One: The Cartoonist Who Shaped America
Tons of people have a soft spot for their favorite cartoon or comic strip -- yet few have attained the social status of the legendary artist Thomas Nast, the caricaturist often referred to as the "Father of the American Cartoon." In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, No ... Show More
32m 3s
Jul 2021
Marvel Cinematic Universe #3
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/158520/open_sms">Click here to send us a message!</a></p><p>For this episode we&apos;re taking another look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this time we have a special guest. The Marvel comic-book s ... Show More
1h 11m
Jan 2023
American Dreamer
Ryan Hurst (Remember The Titans, Sons of Anarchy) stars in this episode, which follows the romance between a young couple that is split apart when war sends one of them across the world. You can hear more about this story by reading the novel it's based on, American Dreamer: A Lo ... Show More
29m 40s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami