Ringlets, a baby-doll face and a sweet singing voice may be the most recognizable aspects of Shirley Temple's famous persona.
But in his latest book, cultural historian John F. Kasson argues that Temple's smile and charm also helped reinforce the cultural and political dynamics of the tumultuous 1930s.
Host Frank Stasio talks to Kasson, history and American studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, about his book, The Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression, (W.W. Norton & Company/2014).
Watch Shirley Temple perform the famous "On the Good Ship Lollipop":