Henry Ford and Antisemitism in 10 Minutes

Unmask the dark legacy of an American icon in our episode on Henry Ford and Antisemitism. While famous for the Model T, Ford was also the primary driver of a massive, industrialized campaign of hate in the early 1920s. In this installment, we explore how he used his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, to circulate the "International Jew" series, a collection of articles that recycled ancient tropes for a modern American audience. We'll dive into his role in popularizing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fraudulent document he helped transform from a fringe Russian forgery into a global bestseller. We'll examine the chilling connection between Ford's propaganda and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany—Adolf Hitler notably kept a life-sized portrait of Ford in his office and named him as an inspiration in Mein Kampf. Join us as we unpack the 1927 lawsuit that finally forced Ford to issue a public apology and shutter his paper, while asking the difficult question: can a man's technological contributions ever be truly separated from the damage caused by his ideological crusades? This is a story of how wealth and "homespun" American values were weaponized to create a blueprint for modern conspiracy theories.