Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
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Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
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In November of 1965, a young lawyer published a book called Unsafe at Any Speed about the dangers of driving a Chevy Corvair. The car could become unstable and possibly flip if driven in poor conditions or without proper training. The lawyer? Ralph Nader.
It took a while for the book to find its audience, but soon it was on bookshelves across the US and made a celebrity our of Nader. Soon he and his "Nader's Raiders" were on a spree, advocating for consumer safety.
This movement was met with skepticism and fear in the industrial community. Who did this guy think he was? Americans didn't need "big government" looking over their shoulders! Well, that's what big corporate leaders thought. They set out to dismantle the consumer safety movement and to convince conservative religious people that safety was actually creeping government interference.
My special guest for this episode is Rick Perlstein, author of The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland.
Sources:
Chevy Corvair ad
Reaganland by Rick Perlstein
Road and Track article about the Corvair
Washington Post article about the UAW strike
One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse
Article with fun pictures from the Ad Council campaigns
Christian Reconstruction by Michael McVicar
Reagan's "I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help"
Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell p73, paperback, Bantam edition, August 1980
Discussion Questions:
What do you think about the government involvement in the Chevy Corvair?
How has product safety impacted your life?
Is the government small, big, or somewhere in between?
Do you remember Ralph Nader?
Is it okay for big business to use advertising to change American minds about the government and economics?
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Truce - History of the Christian Church
Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
