Primetime
Dig into the hidden history of television with Vox's critic-at-large, Emily VanDerWerff. Each season, we explore the tragic, comedic, and occasionally world-changing stories that have marked a medium that's dominated the global conversation for the last 75 years. First up: TV's relationship with the presidency, featuring deep dives into The West Wing, 24, Veep, and more. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 21 minutes
- Episodes
- 8
- Years Active
- 2019
How to broadcast live TV from the moon... in 1969
Robert Stone directed the new PBS series "Chasing the Moon." It's chock full of new archival footage from the period. And behind all that footage – some fascinating stories.
Stone tells Emily VanDerWe…
00:39:13 |
Thu 18 Jul 2019
How Nixon’s TV strategy paved the way for Trump
Richard Nixon’s political career paralleled the rise of television. He discovered how TV could make or break a politician. His successes and flops set a precedent for politicians who came after him, …
00:23:59 |
Thu 13 Jun 2019
The TV Presidents: Reagan and Obama
While they had radically different styles and politics, Presidents Reagan and Obama had at least one thing in common: They were both masters of the small screen. We’ll explore how both presidents use…
00:19:31 |
Thu 06 Jun 2019
When the vice president took on a sitcom character
In May 1992, the TV character Murphy Brown gave birth to a baby boy. The following day, Vice President Dan Quayle publicly blamed Brown for "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone…
00:20:41 |
Thu 30 May 2019
The fictional presidencies of Hillary Clinton
Fictional women in power on TV have a lot in common with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Characters on The Good Wife, Scandal, House of Cards, Commander in Chief — the list goes on and on. On this episode, w…
00:19:20 |
Thu 23 May 2019
24's twisted relationship with the war on terror
24 premiered less than two months after the 9/11 terror attacks. That timing — and the show’s subject matter — affected the way a lot of important people, at the highest levels of United States gover…
00:23:06 |
Thu 16 May 2019
Why Washington can't escape The West Wing
When The West Wing was on the air, during the Clinton and Bush years, a lot of liberal viewers were pining for a Democratic president with a strong sense of right and wrong — someone like President B…
00:25:35 |
Thu 09 May 2019
Introducing Primetime
Welcome to Primetime, a podcast about the power of television and how it affects and reflects our culture. In the first season, host Todd VanDerWerff, Vox’s critic at large, explores the American pre…
00:02:13 |
Mon 29 Apr 2019
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