All in the Family

About this episode

This episode discusses the impact of the television show All in the Family on American culture and politics.

When All in the Family premiered in January 1971, CBS was nervous enough about the content that they added an advisory message at the beginning. Despite their fears, the show was a success, quickly garnering both awards and top Nielsen ratings. All in the Family not only changed television in the United States but also the practice of politics. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Oscar Winberg , Postdoctoral Fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and the John Morton Center for North American Studies at the University of Turku, and author of Archie Bunker for President: How One Television Show Remade American Politics . Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag , composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “ I Don’t Like Your Family ,” composed by Joseph E. Howard, with lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams; this recording, from October 4, 1906, is in the public domain and is available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is a photo of the Cast of the television program All in the Family from a press release dated March 12, 1976; the photo is in the public domain and is available…

People in this episode

Host: Kelly Therese Pollock

Guest: Dr. Oscar Winberg

Topics covered

• television history
• political impact
• cultural analysis
• media studies
• comedy

Keywords

• All in the Family
• television
• politics
• comedy
• cultural impact
• Dr. Oscar Winberg
• media

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, John Morton Center for North American Studies, Library of Congress National Jukebox, Wikimedia Commons

Books & works: All in the Family, Archie Bunker for President: How One Television Show Remade American Politics

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