This work looks at the way radio programming influenced and was influenced by the United States of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, tracing the history of the medium from its earliest years through the advent of television. It places the development of radio within the context of the turmoils of the 1920s - immigration and urbanization, the rise of mass consumer culture, and the changing boundaries of the public and private spheres. Early practices and structures - the role of the announcer, the emergence of program forms from vaudeville, minstrel shows and the concert stage - are examined. Central to the study is a discussion of programmes and their relations to popular cultural understandings of race, ethnicity and gender in the United States of this era. The book explores "Amos 'n Andy" and its negotiations of white racial tensions, and "The rise of the Goldbergs" and its concern with ethnic assimilation. It reflects upon the daytime serials - the first soap operas - arguing that these much-disparaged programmes provided a space in which women could discuss conflicted issues of gender. Also explored are industry practices, considering the role of advertising agencies and their areas of conflict and co-operation with the emerging networks as well as the impact of World War II on the "mission" of radio.