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.
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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.
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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.
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Bill and Rachel look at the development of the modern elevator from the 1850s onward and debate its effects on the American city in comparison to streetcars, electrification, and automobiles.
Links and notes for ep. 431 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/AFD-Ep-431-Links-and-Notes-Modern-Elevators.pdf
Theme music by Stunt Bird.
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A quick episode on hard hats from Bill and Rachel: It wasn’t until after World War I that standardized, tactical equipment for the prevention of workplace noggin bonking came into existence and use.
Links and notes for ep. 425 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AFD-Ep-425-Links-and-Notes-Hard-Hats.pdf
Theme music by Stunt Bird.
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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.
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Bill and Rachel continue the story of US electrification with a look at the indelible role of electric streetcars in powering US cities almost overnight in the 1890s.
Links and notes for ep. 421 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AFD-Ep-421-Links-and-Notes-US-Urban-Electrification-and-Streetcars-Bill_Rachel-Recording-Apr-10-2022.pdf
Theme music by Stunt Bird.
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