[Unlocked] May 4, 2021 – The Smith Act – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 371

Unlocked from our Patreon (on pause this summer): Bill and Rachel take a look at the Alien Registration (Smith) Act of 1940, still on the books today, which prohibits advocating the violent overthrow of the US government.

Links and notes for ep. 371 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Bonus-AFD-Ep-371-Links-and-Notes-The-Alien-Registration-Act-_-Smith-Act-of-1940.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

July 25, 2022 – The 1930s Syphilis Campaign – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 436

On the 50th anniversary of the 1972 revelation of the unethical Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments begun in 1932, Bill and Rachel look back at the huge national push against syphilis in the 1930s United States (before penicillin) and the many strange effects of that campaign.

Links and notes for ep. 436 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AFD-Ep-436-Links-and-Notes-The-1930s-Syphilis-Campaign-and-Tuskegee.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird

Apr 17, 2022 – US Rural Electrification – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 422

Bill and Rachel continue the story of US electrification by looking at the 1930s New Deal programs to bring grid power to rural farms (and compare to what was going on in the Soviet Union at the same time).

Links and notes for ep. 422 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AFD-Ep-422-US-Rural-Electrification.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

[Bonus] That 70s Woe: The Last Price Controls – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 415

A series on understanding the transition of the US economy in the Crisis of the 1970s: The Price Controls episode. (A Bill solo episode recorded Feb 21, 2022.) Subscribe to our Patreon.

Links and notes (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/That-70s-Woe_-The-Last-Price-Controls-Episode-2.pdf

Jan 16, 2022 – The Bracero Guest Worker Program – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 408

This week Rachel and Bill look at some of the cultural and economic effects of the controversial “wartime” Mexican Bracero guest farm worker program that ended up lasting from 1942-1964.

Links and notes for Ep. 408 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AFD-Ep-408-Links-and-Notes-The-Bracero-Guest-Worker-Program.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

August 1921: FDR Becomes Paralyzed – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 393

Description: Bill, Kelley, and Rachel discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt’s career before his paralysis in August 1921 and how he dealt with his lifelong disability thereafter.

Links and notes for Ep. 393: http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AFD-Ep-393-Links-and-Notes-August-1921-FDR-becomes-paralyzed.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

May 9, 2021 – The WPA Strikes of 1939 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 372

Description: Bill, Rachel, and Kelley discuss the WPA strikes of 1939 (most prominently in Minneapolis) in response to sharp rollbacks of the Great Depression relief program.

Links and notes for Ep. 372 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AFD-Ep-372-Links-and-Notes-The-WPA-Strikes-of-1939-Bill_Rachel_Kelley-Recording-May-9.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.