Jayne Loader facts for kids

Jayne Loader is an American director and writer. She is well known for a documentary film called The Atomic Cafe, which came out in 1982. This film was about the Cold War.

Early Life and Education

Jayne Loader was born in 1951 in Weatherford, Texas. She went to Reed College and earned her bachelor's degree in 1973. Later, she studied at the University of Michigan, getting her master's degree in 1976.

The Atomic Cafe Documentary

Jayne Loader helped direct The Atomic Cafe in 1982. She worked with Pierce Rafferty and Kevin Rafferty on this film. The Atomic Cafe is a documentary that uses old government films and news clips. It shows how people in the United States felt about nuclear weapons and the Cold War during the 1950s.

After the film, Jayne Loader appeared on many TV shows, including Late Night With David Letterman. She also wrote books. These include a novel called Between Pictures (1986) and a collection of short stories called Wild America (1989). She has also written articles about movies and culture.

Later Work and Life

In 1995, Jayne Loader created something new called Public Shelter. It was a CD-ROM and a website. It was shown for the first time in January 1996 at the Sundance Film Festival. It even won two awards!

From 1995 to 1997, she wrote WWWench. This was one of the very first blogs ever created. A blog is like an online diary or journal where someone shares their thoughts and information. During this time, she traveled around the world, talking about new media. In 1988, she became a character in a book by Timothy Leary.

In 1999, Jayne Loader married an astronomer named Robert Kirshner. From 2001 to 2007, they were the Masters of Quincy House. This is one of the twelve undergraduate houses at Harvard University. They lived there with their two bull terriers, Astra and Albert.

While at Quincy House, Jayne Loader made many improvements. She renovated their home and the gym. She also helped redesign the dining hall. She hosted many parties and started a speaker series called Masters' Nights. She also created the Valentine's Day Cosmetics Drive in 2003. This event collects cosmetics for people in need and still happens today.

Today, Jayne Loader lives in Friendship, Maine and Portola Valley, California.