According to Mattel, more than a billion Barbie dolls have been sold since they launched the toy in 1959. Barbie and Ken are said to be the two most popular dolls in the world. It would be hard to overstate the influence — for better and worse — that the Barbie toy line has had on our culture.
And now, you may have heard, there’s a movie. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is the No. 1 movie in the country. Its opening last weekend was the largest ever for a movie based on a toy, and it’s expected to hold onto the No. 1 spot this weekend, too.
So it’s not like Barbie’s influence is waning.
This hour, a look at our relationship with Barbie (and Ken), the history of Barbie and the woman who invented her, and, yes, the new movie Barbie.
GUESTS:
- Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
- Rand Richards Cooper: A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant
- Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
- Robin Gerber: The author of several books, including Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her
- James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
- Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
- Michal Lev-Ram: Editor-at-large covering the technology and entertainment sectors for Fortune
- Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
- Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
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Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Josh Nilaya, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired June 30, 2017; May 21, 2019; and July 28, 2023, in a different form.
