Pop Culture Book

A pioneer in exploring the history of children, Paula Fass began to examine American culture as a child herself. Today, she leads Berkeley students in considering this population once overlooked by historians

In her popular courses and seminars, Professor Paula Fass encourages students to dig beneath the "topsoil" of American history. Political speeches and public proclamations, landmark laws and policies figure prominently in her reading assignments, to be sure. But the aspect of "history" she's most passionate about is the lived experience of children and how they figure in our collective imagination thus her extensive historical research on such themes as child discipline, immigrant parents' views on schooling, and childrearing-advice literature.

Storm Track Infiltration: Indonesian Jihad

Yesterday I did a post on the Swedish Jihad and how Islam has infiltrated that nation placing its feet on the path to dhimmitude. But not only non-Muslims nations are threatened by political Islam. The moderate Muslim dominated countries in Southeast Asia are also the target of the Islamists. A recent documentary by PBS “Struggle for the Soul of Islam: Inside Indonesia," part of the “America at a Crossroads" series, brings this threat into focus.

Those most feeling the pain and pressure of militant Islam's rise have been moderate Muslims, many of them horrified by the tactics and goals of their fundamentalist brethren. It is these moderates who are potentially the Western world's strongest allies in the struggle to contain the radicals. One of the great stages for this struggle is Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and home to about 210 million Muslims, more than any other nation's.

Rolling Stone magazine celebrates its 40th anniversary

The echoes of the boomer generation reached a new crescendo Friday as Rolling Stone published an issue celebrating 40 loud years of life.

So long a run surprises no one more than owner/founder Jann Wenner. "I had no vision for what the magazine would become," he says. "It was just a slow build."

The climb began back on Nov. 9, 1967, with an issue that splashed John Lennon on its cover. Other magazines had tried to nail the sounds and sights of the boomer generation's rise to power before, including Crawdaddy, which preceded Rolling Stone in the marketplace by more than a year. But only Wenner's publication found the right tone and image for the era.

Everything from Annie Leibovitz's iconic photographs to the probing writings of critics like Paul Nelson and Greil Marcus reflected the shifting values of the emerging culture.

What's your impression of Don Imus controversy?

"I think what they did was right. When something bad happens, you always have to make sure you address it directly or it'll keep happening and then other people will think that's cool or think that it's something that's just going to happen. We need to stop racism by stopping racial slurs." .

Odds of Three-Way Tie

Karpagam Rajagopal almost made game-show history on July 3, 2000. That's the day "Jeopardy" aired her second appearance, after she won $7,500 on the previous episode.