Tracks the lives and careers of five women and their experiences with the new forms of mass media in the 1930s and 40s. Children of the depression, they graduated into a media culture mobilized around the propaganda needs of WWII, and worked at the forefront to advance knowledge about communication, social influence, politics and celebrity. Through personal stories they illuminate the experiences of a generation, narrate history from the margins and reflect upon women, media, and the art of inquiry in ways that still resonate today