Impressions of America is a podcast on modern American history, presented by Simon, Tobi, and Vaughn, covering the changing political discourse since the 1950s – from the Cronkite years to Trump.
Simon grew up in Scotland on a steady diet of American movies, music, and TV. He was fascinated by a world so similar and yet so different than his own. His main area of study at university was media history – focusing on the rise of pop culture and the social trends that grow around it. He has a particular interest in 20th-century history, the evolution of American politics, and communication through media.
Tobi is a London based History Graduate with a deep and evolving interest in American History and popular culture. Developed first through American cinema before maturing to hulking political biographies. He is particularly fascinated by the history of US conservatism, its key characters, and where it may be going in the future. Has worked in Media Analysis for corporations, public affairs for governments in Africa and the Middle East, and as a Community Organiser. Constantly thinking about the power of political communications and its implications for wider society.
Vaughn is a Ph.D. candidate at University College London researching Hollywood’s cultural propaganda as put forth in ostensibly non-political films, specifically Christmas films from the post-war and early Cold War period. In previous research, she has explored reproductive demonesses in ancient Greek and Roman myths and literature, as well as classical reception of the goddess Venus in a 1948 comic book series of the same name and the implications it held for women at work in post-war New York. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vaughn holds an M.Phil. in Classics from Trinity College Dublin, and an M.A. in History from UCL.