Has Formula One left behind its gritty, dangerous and somewhat esoteric past to become a cross between the World Cup and Disneyland? How much of its new global popularity can summed up as (perhaps merely) “media spectacle?”

This episode is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family – and was recorded in front of a live studio audience. And has been Edited, Remastered and Produced in partnership with the Motoring Podcast Network.

Bio

James Miller’s engagement with Formula 1 includes chatting about race strategy with Nikki Lauda at the 1977 US Grand Prix, where Lauda won his second world championship. Now it involves at-home viewing of real-time, in-car camera images on a flat screen TV.

Dr. Miller is professor emeritus of communications at Hampshire College. He has studied new media as a Fulbright researcher in Paris and a visiting professor at MIT’s Media Lab.