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"The Dictionary of Teleliteracy" with David Bianculli.

Fresh Air's TV critic, David Bianculli. His new book is "The Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events" (Continuum). It explores the shows and events that have had the biggest impact--good and bad--on American culture. From the funeral of JFK to Hee Haw, the book provides background and context for the America's most memorable TV moments. Bianculli also reviews television for the New York Daily News.

13:53
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Other segments from the episode on June 26, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 26, 1996: Interview with Veronica Chambers; Interview with David Bianculli.
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37:53

Coming of Age in the Era After the Civil Rights Movement.

Journalist and author Veronica Chambers. Her new memoir, "Mama's Girl" (Riverhead Books), describes her ascent from childhood poverty into the middle class. Growing up in the 1970s in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Chambers struggled to ease the strain on her single mother and to help her brother stay out of trouble. She overcame racial stereotypes by excelling in the gifted and talented program in school and graduating from college at the age of 20.

Interview

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Lewis Gould

Lewis Gould is a professor of American History at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s edited the new book, “Watching Television Come of Age” (University of Texas Press) a collection of the New York Times reviews by his father, Jack Gould who covered TV for the Times from 1947 until 1972. Jack Gould died in 1993.

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