The Roaring Twenties — Modernity, Money, and Moral Panic

The Roaring Twenties was more than jazz, parties, and prosperity—it was a decade that redefined American life. In this episode, we explore how mass production, consumer credit, and advertising fueled a new economy while leaving workers and farmers behind. We examine cultural revolutions, from flappers and radio to the Harlem Renaissance, alongside fierce backlash in Prohibition, immigration restriction, and the rebirth of the KKK. This was a nation pulled between liberation and control, optimism and anxiety. Beneath the surface of prosperity, tensions over identity, morality, and economic stability were building—setting the stage for the Great Depression and reshaping modern America forever.