January 30, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Cultural Representations

[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On telling examples of three forms of media’s depictions of the Challenger . 1) TV Movies: The live broadcast of the Challenger launch (and thus the…