There was a moment, right around 1956, when America genuinely believed that a mild-mannered Columbia University English instructor named Charles Van Doren was one of the smartest men alive. He stood in a soundproof isolation booth, sweat beading on his forehead under the studio lights, and wrestled aloud with questions about opera and literature and … Continue reading The Isolation Booth Was a Lie: How 1950s Quiz Shows Nearly Destroyed America’s Trust in TV