Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: the dialectic between advertising and activism -- Cultural critics in the age of radio -- The psychology of radio advertising: audience intellectuals and the resentment of radio commercials -- "Poisons, potions and profits": radio activists and the origins of the consumer movement -- Consumers on the march: CIO boycotts, active listeners, and consumer time -- The consumer revolt of "Mr. Average Man": the CIO boycott of Philco -- Radio and Boake Carter -- Washboard weepers: women writers, women listeners and the debate over soap operas -- "I won't buy you anything but love, baby": NBC, Donald Montgomery, and the post-war consumer revolt -- Conclusion: high-class hucksters: the rise and fall of a radio republic.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2005. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.