Radio Psychics by John Benedict Buescher

'Radio Psychics: Mind Reading and Fortune Telling in American Broadcasting, 1920-1940' is a history of over 25 performers who practiced their art behind studio microphones during the early years of radio broadcasting, from about 1920 to 1940. These 'mentalists,' born from vaudeville, circuses, sideshows, and the Spiritualist and New Thought movements of the mid-late 19th century, used the language of wireless technology to explain their ability to see the past, present, and future.Ĭasting their mystical knowledge as a scientifically honed craft, these mentalists persuaded millions to pay for dubious advice until governmental and public pressures forced them off the air. Performers claiming psychic powers turned radio broadcasting into a fabulous money machine. Some thought it would dissolve the distance between time and place, others that human minds would become transparent, one tuned to another. this new communication technology would effect dramatic changes and influences in every segment of society.

Synopsis: When radio broadcasting began in the early 1920s, it popularity became nation wide. MLA style: 'Radio Psychics.' The Free Library.

Radio Psychics by John Benedict Buescher