People living in the 1950s faced a host of existential issues. Many reverberate with us today. Here are ten episodes and influences that shaped the culture, then and now.

10. The Korean conflict

9. Rosenberg executions

8. Hydrogen bomb

7. McCarthy Communist hearings

6. Polio epidemic

5. Flood of 1955

4. Death of Joseph Stalin

3. Building the DEW Line

2. Little Rock Nine

1. Sputnik

What would you choose for your top ten?

Next: 10 significant cultural influences

Jeff Widmer’s latest book is Distant Early Warning, a novel of the Cold War.