A fresh perspective on the construction of social problems, not found in traditional textbooks. Students from any major will find new and applicable ways of thinking about social problems in our culture and media. Amie Levesque, University of Denver, USA The best book for social problems if you want to connect with students who are immersed in popular culture. David Altheide, Emeritus Regents' Professor, Arizona State University An original method of classifying the various ways social problems and popular culture intersect. Anyone who reads this book is likely to come away a more thoughtful consumer of all sorts of news and entertainment media. Joel Best, University of Delaware, USA Offering up-to-the-minute illustrations of cultural trends and accessible explanations of enduring sociological concepts, Maratea and Monahan deftly explore how corporations, politicians, advocates and activists use popular culture to shape the public's response to social problems. Jared Del Rosso, University of Denver, USA