Any topic (writer’s choice)

1. What are some of the studies and articles linking smoking to popular culture, and what issues does Sternheimer point out about them? According to the reading, what are the more likely indicators/predictors of smoking in both the lives of teens and adults? Finally, what factors do you think relate to the steady drop in smoking rates in the United States since the 1990s?

2. According to Sternheimer, why might media conglomerates themselves focus on media and popular culture in regards to social problems? What role might they play in how Americans frame social problems like poverty? Beyond money itself, what overall impact does poverty have on the lives of children? Finally, why do you believe Americans as a whole have seemed so reluctant to talk about racism and poverty in our own country?