Bill Humphrey

About Bill Humphrey

Bill Humphrey is the primary host of WVUD's Arsenal For Democracy talk radio show and a local elected official.

[Unlocked] Apr 6, 2021 – General Averell’s Asphalt Empire – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 363

Unlocked from our Patreon: Bill and Rachel learn what asphalt is and how failed Civil War General William Woods Averell became an asphalt paving magnate by the end of the 19th century.

Links and notes for ep. 363 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Bonus-AFD-Ep-363-Links-and-Notes-General-Averells-Asphalt-Empire.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Aug 21, 2022 – Industrial Nails and Nail Guns – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 438

Bill and Rachel look at the history of industrialization of nail fastener production in the United States and its profound effects on the economy, and then talk about nail guns.

Links and notes for ep. 438 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AFD-Ep-438-Links-and-Notes-The-Industrial-Nail-and-Nail-Guns.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Aug 14, 2022 – Fire Alarm Telegraphy and the Great Boston Fire of 1872 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 437

Bill and Rachel look at the intersection of modern, Second Industrial Revolution cities and the old scourge of urban fires through the lens of the Great Boston Fire of 1872.

Links and notes for ep. 437 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AFD-Ep-437-Links-and-Notes-Fire-Alarm-Telegraphy-and-the-Great-Boston-Fire-of-1872.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird.

[Unlocked] Feb 9, 1871 – The US Fish Commission – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 412

Unlocked from our Patreon: Fish Cops at 151 – A fun mini-episode. Find out why the US government had fish cops whipping around the ocean in fast boats arresting Canadians. (Links/notes.) 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

July 17, 2022 – Telstar – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 435

60 years ago this week, on July 23, 1962, President Kennedy addressed the US and Europe simultaneously by video via a Telstar satellite link. As with the transatlantic telegraph cable about a century before, it was a major development. (Bill and Rachel.)

Links and notes for ep. 435 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AFD-Ep-435-Links-and-Notes-Telstar.pdf

Intro music by Stunt Bird.

July 10, 2022 – Western Union – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 434

Bill and Rachel explore how Western Union went from the first nationwide US telegraph monopoly to putting the first US commercial communication satellite into space and becoming the global remittance leader.

Links and notes for ep. 434 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AFD-Ep-434-Links-and-Notes-Western-Union.pdf

Theme music by Stunt Bird. Special outro cited in notes.