The Fabulous Fifties

The nineteen fifties brought us the credit card, color television, the Korean War and the first hydrogen bomb. It found a vaccine for polio, reported that cigarettes caused cancer, conquered Mount Everest, swooned for Elvis and launched the McCarthy Communist Witch Hunt. Despite all this change and revolution, the fifties have taken on a nostalgic ideal, viewed as a time of calmness and conformity idolized in television shows like "Leave It To Beaver". We'll take a look at this overlooked and often misunderstood decade and try to separate myth from reality. Laura's guest is Larry Douglas, Independent Scholar and Retired Professor of History at Plymouth State University.