Few inventions have had as much effect on contemporary American society as television. Think I Love Lucy, All in the Family, a nation gathered in communal grief after the Kennedy assassination and later in horror over 9/11.
 
In a discussion of his new book Television: A Biography, acclaimed film critic David Thomson examines the evolution of this pervasive medium over the past 60 years – from fixed-time programming on a finite number of channels to today’s array of on-demand, multi-platform content – and its substantial impact on the collective consciousness.
 
Thomson, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Guardian, and other outlets, also is the author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film and Moments That Made the Movies.