At the dawn of the 1970s, blue-collar workers were re-shaping New York City's skyline. But they were also building an America that would leave them behind.
In December 1969, the United States Selective Service conducted its first draft lottery since World War II, fueling a nationwide firestorm between those conscripted to serve and those who found a way out.
Smog was pervasive in mid-century Los Angeles—so it’s no wonder that this real-life threat made it into Hollywood films. We spoke with authors Robin Murray and Joseph Heumann about the smog-filled movie scenes where environmental anxiety took a terrifying turn.
At a time when there were few jobs for women in technology, Edwin Land filled the ranks at Polaroid with recent graduates from Smith College, a small women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts.
Thousands of Superfund sites have been identified across the United States, many of them located in communities of color and low income communities that face barriers to relocation. We spoke with environmental scientist Lizette Ruiz, a resident of South Gate, California, to learn more about the impact of environmental racism and what it's like living around a Superfund site today.
