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From the depths of the Great Depression to the dawn of American global power, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reshaped the nation's economy, politics, and social contract. Hosts Lucas and...
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From the depths of the Great Depression to the dawn of American global power, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reshaped the nation's economy, politics, and social contract. Hosts Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal alphabet agencies—the AAA, WPA, TVA, and SEC—that put millions to work and redefined the role of government. They dissect FDR's leadership through crises: the Banking Holiday, the fireside chats, the court-packing fight, and the contentious creation of Social Security. The series examines the New Deal's racial complexities—how programs often excluded African Americans and women—and its legacy in debates over infrastructure, federal power, and economic justice that echo today. From the Dust Bowl to the rise of labor unions, from Huey Long's populist challenge to the Supreme Court's constitutional showdown, this show digs into the triumphs and failures of a transformative era. What does it mean to 'save capitalism from itself'? And how did the New Deal plant seeds for the modern welfare state, the civil rights movement, and today's partisan divides? Join Lucas and Luna for a deep, nuanced conversation about a moment when America remade itself—and why its lessons still matter.
#FranklinRoosevelt #NewDeal #GreatDepression #FDR #WPA #SocialSecurity #AAA #TVA #SEC #DustBowl #CourtPacking #FiresideChats #HueyLong #LaborHistory #AmericanHistory #History #WorldHistory #FexingoHistory
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#FranklinRoosevelt #NewDeal #GreatDepression #FDR #WPA #SocialSecurity #AAA #TVA #SEC #DustBowl #CourtPacking #FiresideChats #HueyLong #LaborHistory #AmericanHistory #History #WorldHistory #FexingoHistory
Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained — Fexingo History
Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained — Fexingo History
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13 MAY 2026 · In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), one of the New Deal's most transformative programs. Before the REA, nine out of ten farms in America had no electricity. Private power companies refused to extend lines to sparsely populated areas, leaving farmers stuck with kerosene lamps and hand pumps. Lucas explains how FDR created the REA in 1935 after a visit to upstate New York, where he saw a farm family's joy at receiving electric light. He dives into the story of Morris L. Cooke, the REA's first administrator, who used low-interest loans to help farmer cooperatives build their own power lines. Luna learns about the impact: how electricity revolutionized rural life, from washing machines to milking machines, and how it stemmed the exodus from farms to cities. Lucas also touches on the opposition from private utilities, which tried to block the co-ops, and the REA's legacy in reshaping America's countryside.
#RuralElectrificationAdministration #REA #MorrisLCooke #FDR #NewDeal #RuralElectrification #ElectricCooperatives #TennesseeValleyAuthority #FranklinDRoosevelt #FarmLife #20thCenturyHistory #AmericanHistory #Infrastructure #GreatDepression #CooperativeMovement #RuralAmerica #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #FranklinRoosevelt #WPA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
12 MAY 2026 · In Episode 39 of our FDR series, we dive into the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, better known as the Wagner Act. This episode explores how the act transformed American labor relations by guaranteeing workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. We trace the rise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) under John L. Lewis, the intense opposition from industrialists like Henry Ford and Republic Steel, and landmark legal battles like NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel. We also delve into the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre at Republic Steel's South Chicago plant, where ten unarmed protesters were killed by police. The episode highlights the role of Senator Robert F. Wagner, the National Labor Relations Board, and key figures like Sidney Hillman and Philip Murray. We discuss the sit-down strikes, including the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37, and the eventual split between the AFL and CIO. This is the story of how the New Deal empowered workers and reshaped the American economy.
#NewDeal #FDR #WagnerAct #NationalLaborRelationsAct #CIO #JohnLLewis #SidneyHillman #PhilipMurray #RobertFWagner #FlintSitDownStrike #MemorialDayMassacre #RepublicSteel #HenryFord #NLRB #SitDownStrike #LaborHistory #FexingoHistory #History #FranklinRoosevelt #GreatDepression Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
12 MAY 2026 · In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Federal Art Project (FAP), a New Deal program that put thousands of artists to work and reshaped American culture. They discuss how the FAP, led by Holger Cahill, aimed to create a truly American art by employing artists to create murals, easel paintings, and sculptures for public buildings. The conversation covers the Community Art Centers that brought art to rural and urban communities, the Index of American Design that catalogued folk art, and the controversial legacy of the FAP's emphasis on American scene painting. They touch on the mural at the Rincon Annex Post Office in San Francisco, the work of artists like Ben Shahn and Jackson Pollock, and the eventual end of the FAP in 1943. The episode highlights how the FAP democratized art and laid the foundation for the post-war American art scene.
#FederalArtProject #HolgerCahill #NewDeal #FDR #GreatDepression #AmericanArt #PublicWorksOfArt #CommunityArtCenter #IndexOfAmericanDesign #BenShahn #JacksonPollock #RinconAnnexPostOffice #Mural #WorksProgressAdministration #DepressionEra #AmericanHistory #FexingoHistory #History #FranklinRoosevelt #WPA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
11 MAY 2026 · In this episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained, Lucas and Luna explore the creation of the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in 1935, a lesser-known but vital New Deal agency. Spurred by the catastrophic Dust Bowl, the SCS pioneered soil-saving techniques like contour plowing, terracing, and shelterbelts. Lucas delves into the story of Hugh Hammond Bennett, the 'father of soil conservation,' who convinced Congress to act after a dramatic dust storm darkened Washington, D.C. The episode covers the SCS's work with farmers, the establishment of demonstration projects, and the lasting impact on American agriculture. It also touches on the resistance from some farmers and the agency's evolution into today's Natural Resources Conservation Service. A tale of environmental crisis, scientific innovation, and government intervention that reshaped the land.
#NewDeal #SoilConservationService #DustBowl #HughHammondBennett #FDR #1930s #GreatPlains #ContourPlowing #Shelterbelts #NaturalResourcesConservationService #SoilErosion #Agriculture #EnvironmentalHistory #AmericanHistory #FexingoHistory #History #NewDealAgencies #Conservation #FranklinRoosevelt #GreatDepression Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
11 MAY 2026 · During the Great Depression, the Federal Theater Project put thousands of unemployed theater professionals to work, staging everything from Shakespeare to living newspapers. This episode explores how Hallie Flanagan, a fiery Vassar professor, defied critics and created a national theater that brought controversial, socially conscious plays to millions. We dive into the Project's most daring production—the living newspaper 'Triple-A Plowed Under'—which dramatized the Supreme Court's striking down of the Agricultural Adjustment Act. We also cover the congressional backlash led by Martin Dies and the House Un-American Activities Committee, which eventually killed the program. Along the way, we meet Orson Welles, whose early career was shaped by the FTP, and discuss the legacy of a New Deal experiment that treated the arts as essential to democracy.
#FederalTheaterProject #HallieFlanagan #LivingNewspaper #OrsonWelles #WPA #FDR #NewDeal #GreatDepression #TripleAPlowedUnder #HUAC #MartinDies #TheCradleWillRock #Vassar #Theater #1930s #ArtsPolicy #History #FexingoHistory #FranklinRoosevelt #SocialSecurity Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
10 MAY 2026 · In 1935, as dust storms swallowed the Great Plains, FDR launched a quiet revolution: the Resettlement Administration. This episode follows the RA's controversial director, Rexford Tugwell, as he tried to relocate 200,000 desperate farm families onto cooperative homesteads. We visit the experimental Greenbelt towns—Greenbelt, Maryland; Greendale, Wisconsin; Greenhills, Ohio—where the government built model suburbs with shared green spaces. We explore the RA's photography project, which gave us iconic images like Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' and Arthur Rothstein's 'Fleeing a Dust Storm.' And we examine the political firestorm: critics called it socialism, farm bureaus fought relocation, and Congress eventually gutted the agency. But the RA's legacy lives on in the Farm Security Administration, which pioneered rural healthcare and low-interest loans for tenant farmers.
#NewDeal #FDR #ResettlementAdministration #DustBowl #RexfordTugwell #GreenbeltTowns #FarmSecurityAdministration #DorotheaLange #MigrantMother #ArthurRothstein #GreatDepression #RuralAmerica #CooperativeFarming #Homesteading #NewDealPhotography #GreenbeltMaryland #History #FexingoHistory #FranklinRoosevelt #WPA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
10 MAY 2026 · In 1935, the Wagner Act transformed American labor law, guaranteeing workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. But the law's passage was only the beginning of a bitter struggle. This episode explores the rise of industrial unionism through the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and its charismatic leader, John L. Lewis. We follow the Flint Sit-Down Strike against General Motors in 1936-37, a pivotal confrontation that tested the new labor protections. The strike involved covert tactics like the 'flying squadron' of union activists and a tense standoff with Michigan Governor Frank Murphy. Meanwhile, Lewis broke with FDR over the president's neutral stance in labor disputes, leading to a dramatic rift. The episode also touches on the role of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the reaction of business leaders like Alfred P. Sloan, and the broader impact of the CIO's success in organizing auto, steel, and other mass-production industries. By 1941, the CIO had over 3 million members, reshaping American politics and the New Deal coalition.
#WagnerAct #JohnLLewis #CIO #FlintSitDownStrike #GeneralMotors #NationalLaborRelationsBoard #IndustrialUnionism #FrancesPerkins #FrankMurphy #UnitedAutomobileWorkers #NewDeal #FDR #LaborHistory #1930s #SitDownStrike #AlfredPSloan #FexingoHistory #History #FranklinRoosevelt #GreatDepression Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
9 MAY 2026 · Before the New Deal could rebuild America, it had to expose what broke it. In 1933, the Senate Banking Committee launched the Pecora Investigation, a series of hearings that laid bare the fraud, greed, and recklessness of the nation's financial elite. Led by chief counsel Ferdinand Pecora, the hearings grilled J.P. Morgan Jr., Charles Mitchell of National City Bank, and other titans on their tax evasion, stock manipulation, and reckless speculation. Pecora's relentless questioning revealed that many of these bankers had paid no income taxes during the boom years while millions suffered. The investigation didn't just shame Wall Street; it provided the political momentum for the Glass-Steagall Act, the Securities Act of 1933, and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission. It also made Pecora a national hero. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how a single investigation reshaped American finance, from the dramatic courtroom confrontations to the lasting legacy of Pecora's reforms. They discuss the role of the press, the public's outrage, and how Pecora's work set the stage for the New Deal's financial architecture.
#PecoraInvestigation #FerdinandPecora #WallStreet #GlassSteagall #SecuritiesAct1933 #JPMorgan #CharlesMitchell #SenateBankingCommittee #NewDeal #FDR #FinancialReform #StockMarket #1930s #GreatDepression #SEC #History #FexingoHistory #USHistory #FranklinRoosevelt #WPA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
9 MAY 2026 · When Franklin Roosevelt signed the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934, it was hailed as a reversal of the disastrous Dawes Act. But the New Deal also brought a darker project: the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, which flooded ancestral lands of the Colville, Spokane, and other tribes. In this episode, Lucas tells Luna about the 1940 Colville Confederated Tribes land loss, the broken promises of the Bureau of Indian Affairs under John Collier, and how Native communities fought for compensation through the Indian Claims Commission. We explore the tension between FDR's progressive rhetoric and the reality of eminent domain, the role of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the legacy of displacement that still echoes in tribal sovereignty battles today.
#GrandCouleeDam #ColvilleConfederatedTribes #IndianReorganizationAct #JohnCollier #NewDeal #FDR #NativeAmericanHistory #ColumbiaRiver #Displacement #EminentDomain #IndianClaimsCommission #BureauOfIndianAffairs #1930s #1940s #TreatyRights #History #FexingoHistory #USHistory #FranklinRoosevelt #GreatDepression Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
Transcribed
8 MAY 2026 · In the summer of 1932, thousands of World War I veterans and their families converged on Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of a bonus due in 1945. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force. This episode tells the story of their peaceful encampment, the violent expulsion ordered by President Herbert Hoover under General Douglas MacArthur and aided by George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower, and how the Bonus Army's brutal treatment helped propel Franklin D. Roosevelt to the White House. We explore the Bonus Army's shantytown on the Anacostia Flats, the burning of their camps, and the two veterans who died. When FDR took office, he refused to repeat Hoover's mistake, instead offering the veterans jobs in the Civilian Conservation Corps. The episode also touches on the 1936 bonus payment override of FDR's veto, and the GI Bill as a later echo of the Bonus Army's struggle.
#BonusArmy #BonusExpeditionaryForce #FDR #HerbertHoover #DouglasMacArthur #GeorgePatton #DwightEisenhower #AnacostiaFlats #GreatDepression #WorldWarI #Veterans #CivilianConservationCorps #GIBill #NewDeal #PatmanBill #WalterWaters #History #FexingoHistory #FranklinRoosevelt #WPA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/franklin-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-explained-fexingo-history--6985379/support.
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From the depths of the Great Depression to the dawn of American global power, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reshaped the nation's economy, politics, and social contract. Hosts Lucas and...
show more
From the depths of the Great Depression to the dawn of American global power, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reshaped the nation's economy, politics, and social contract. Hosts Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal alphabet agencies—the AAA, WPA, TVA, and SEC—that put millions to work and redefined the role of government. They dissect FDR's leadership through crises: the Banking Holiday, the fireside chats, the court-packing fight, and the contentious creation of Social Security. The series examines the New Deal's racial complexities—how programs often excluded African Americans and women—and its legacy in debates over infrastructure, federal power, and economic justice that echo today. From the Dust Bowl to the rise of labor unions, from Huey Long's populist challenge to the Supreme Court's constitutional showdown, this show digs into the triumphs and failures of a transformative era. What does it mean to 'save capitalism from itself'? And how did the New Deal plant seeds for the modern welfare state, the civil rights movement, and today's partisan divides? Join Lucas and Luna for a deep, nuanced conversation about a moment when America remade itself—and why its lessons still matter.
#FranklinRoosevelt #NewDeal #GreatDepression #FDR #WPA #SocialSecurity #AAA #TVA #SEC #DustBowl #CourtPacking #FiresideChats #HueyLong #LaborHistory #AmericanHistory #History #WorldHistory #FexingoHistory
show less
#FranklinRoosevelt #NewDeal #GreatDepression #FDR #WPA #SocialSecurity #AAA #TVA #SEC #DustBowl #CourtPacking #FiresideChats #HueyLong #LaborHistory #AmericanHistory #History #WorldHistory #FexingoHistory
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| Author | Fexingo |
| Organization | Fexingo |
| Categories | History , Society & Culture , Education |
| Website | www.fexingo.com |
| podcasts@fexingo.com |
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