Popular Culture
Pure Invention
Those of you who also read my newsletter may remember that for the last few months I have been exploring the question of Japanese pop culture and the United States. It has been fascinating and frustrating. I know a lot more than I did when I began my quest in early February, but I still…
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History on Display “Spies and Space” at The Museum of Russian Art
Several weeks ago, I was the guest of the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch World War II History Round Table in the Twin Cities. I was there to talk about Sigrid Schultz and The Dragon From Chicago,[1] but the members of the Round Table[2] kept me entertained throughout my visit, introducing me to history-adjacent sites I…
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Bette Nesmith Graham, Who Regularly Saved My Life (or at Least My Sanity) in College
Returning to the idea of women who were inventors and/or entrepreneurs, allow me to introduce you to Bette Nesmith Graham, a struggling single mother who founded what became a multi-million dollar business in her kitchen[1]. In 1954, Bette Nesmith Graham was a divorced single mother who supported herself and her son, Michael,[2] by working as…
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