Episodes
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Update for Our Listeners
Oct 15, 2023: After a dozen years, this show is ending. But it’s for some very cool and exciting reasons described herein, and we would love to hear from our loyal listeners as we bid this project farewell and move on to new things. The post Update for Our Listeners appeared first on Arsenal For...
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[Unlocked] Jun 1, 2021 – Louis F. Post – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 379
Unlocked from our Patreon (paused this summer): Bill and Rachel discuss Louis F. Post, an early Assistant US Labor Secretary with some radical leanings, who ended up blocking thousands of post-WWI deportations. Links and notes for ep. 379 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] May 18, 2021 – The 1920 Census – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 375
Unlocked from our Patreon (paused this summer): Bill and Rachel discuss the present-day influences of the momentous 1920 US Census, which grappled with trends in urbanization and the recent breakup of several major home countries of immigrants. Links and notes for ep. 375 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] May 4, 2021 – The Smith Act – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 371
Unlocked from our Patreon (on pause this summer): Bill and Rachel take a look at the Alien Registration (Smith) Act of 1940, still on the books today, which prohibits advocating the violent overthrow of the US government. Links and notes for ep. 371 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] Mar 23, 2021 – The 1923 San Pedro Maritime Strike – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 361
Unlocked from our Patreon (on pause this summer): Bill and Rachel discuss the failed IWW strike at the Port of Los Angeles in 1923, including Upton Sinclair getting arrested and the Klan menacing strikers. Links and notes for ep. 361 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] Mar 2, 2021 – Dropped Ceilings – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 355
Unlocked from our Patreon (on pause this summer): Bill and Rachel discuss dropped ceilings and the rise and fall of the mid-century office. It’s an area that could probably use some academic study. Links and notes for ep. 355 (PDF):...
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May 28, 2023 – KitchenAid – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 471
A mini-episode from Bill and Rachel on how a major defense contract led to the iconic KitchenAid stand mixer, followed by some announcements about the podcast for the summer months ahead. Links and notes for ep. 471 (PDF):...
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May 14, 2023 – Barbed Wire – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 470
150 years ago, in May 1873, work began on developing the breakthrough design for mass-produced barbed wire, with wide-ranging (pun intended) implications for agriculture, society, and warfare. Links and notes for ep. 470 (PDF):...
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May 7, 2023 – Hollywood Strikes – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 469
After a quick chat about the ongoing 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, we look back at a few of the noteworthy strikes in Hollywood of years past. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for ep. 469 (PDF):...
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Apr 30, 2023 – Home Economics/Domestic Science – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 468
This week we are talking about the field of home economics or domestic science. Was it really a science? To what extent was it a marketing exercise? Can it ever really overcome its founding racist and classist overtones? Does home economics even exist anymore? Links and note for ep. 468 … Read…
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Apr 23, 2023 – The Council on Books in Wartime – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 467
The non-profit Council on Books in Wartime (from US publishers) during World War II single-handedly made a bunch of books like The Great Gatsby into major American texts by providing specialized paperback copies free to the troops. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for ep. 467 (PDF):...
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Apr 15, 2023 – The Nye Committee – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 466
From 1934 to 1936, the US Senate’s Nye Committee examined the role of the private defense industry (and capitalism more broadly) in fomenting global conflict and dragging the US into WWI. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for ep. 466 (PDF):...
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Apr 9, 2023 – Federal Deposit Insurance – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 465
The recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank and federal intervention to protect its previously uninsured accounts has brought renewed focus to Federal Deposit Insurance. Contrary to popular belief, it was not part of the New Deal and was not championed by FDR. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for...
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Apr 2, 2023 – The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1887-88 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 464
The failed anthracite coal mine workers strike of 1887-88 in eastern Pennsylvania illustrates some of the fault lines and contradictions within capitalism and highlight some of the ways our 21st century economy is devolving back toward older patterns. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for ep. 464...
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[Unlocked] June 8, 2021 – The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit of 1986 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 381
Unlocked from our Patreon: Have you ever wondered what the absolute peak example of neoliberal policy is? Bill and Rachel submit to you that it might be the tradable Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in effect since 1986. Links and notes for ep. 381 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] May 25, 2021 – The Red Ark – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 377
Unlocked from our Patreon: Bill and Rachel discuss the Red Ark (or Soviet Ark) deportations of Russian-born American anarchists in 1919. (Don’t miss our two part series from 2019 on American anarchist history!) Links and notes for ep. 377 (PDF):...
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Mar 12, 2023 – Gillette – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 463
At the start of the 20th century, eccentric inventor and utopian theorist King C. Gillette developed the disposable blade for safety razors, launching one of the most influential, trend-setting American corporations of all time, for good or ill. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for ep. 463…
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March 1873: The Comstock Laws – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 462
150 years ago last week, on March 3rd, 1873, the Comstock Laws on obscenity, including birth control and abortion supplies or information, became part of the US Criminal Code. (Bill and Rachel.) Links and notes for ep. 462 (PDF):...
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The “Employee-Owned” Chicago and North Western Railway: Hype vs Reality – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 461
In 1972, some employees made a leveraged buyout of the Chicago and North Western Railway and re-branded it as “Employee-Owned.” The reality was much more complicated and reveals a lot about railroading and American capitalism generally in the 1970s and 1980s. (Bill and Rachel) Links and notes for...
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Feb 20, 2023 – Car Starters and Ignitions – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 460
A quick look at the evolution of car starter and ignition technology, from hand-crank disasters to viral video car theft trends. (Bill and Rachel.) Links and notes for ep. 460 (PDF)…
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The New York City Flour Riot of February 1837 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 459
186 years ago, with the US economy starting to melt down, New Yorkers rioted against alleged grain and flour hoarding. But discontent was much more widespread, as Locofocos and armed “Patriot” paramilitaries soon made clear. Bill and Rachel. Links and notes for ep. 459 (PDF):...
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Feb 5, 2023 – Watch City – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 458
In 1857, Waltham, Massachusetts jumped from the First to the Second Industrial Revolution by becoming the global home of the mass-produced pocketwatch, capitalizing on the railroad industry and then the American Civil War. Links and notes for ep. 458 (PDF):...
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The Boston Associates, Part III: The Doomed Whigs – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 457
How some of the most powerful, wealthy political players in antebellum Massachusetts went from controlling state politics completely to hopelessly funding the Constitutional Union Party in 1860. [Continued from parts I and II] Theme music by Stunt Bird. Links and notes for ep. 457 (PDF):...
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The Boston Associates, Part II: The Invention of American Philanthropy – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 456
As an early group of 19th century Boston investors became even richer with less effort, via textile production, and as society became more alienated, they turned from charity to philanthropy to protect their power (and to have something to do). [Continued from part I.] Links and notes for ep. 456…
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The Boston Associates, Part I: Rise of the Machines – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 455
In the 1810s, a close-knit group of rich investors based in Boston decided to adopt and adapt emerging industrial capitalism, via the textile industry, in a way that would preserve and grow their existing wealth and power. The Waltham-Lowell System was born. Links and notes for ep. 455 (PDF):...
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[Unlocked] Feb 9, 2021 – State-Level Labor Law, Part II – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 349
To prepare for a series on early industrial Massachusetts we’re unlocking this episode from Patreon: Bill and Rachel examine what an 1842 Massachusetts court decision can tell us about the process of industrialization and the emergence of labor unions and what parallels we can draw for modern gig...
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[Unlocked] May 11, 2021 – Military Resistance to the Vietnam War – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 373
Unlocked from our Patreon: Bill and Rachel discuss the 2005 documentary “Sir! No Sir!” on US military service members who resisted the Vietnam War. Links and notes for ep. 373 (PDF):...
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Dec 27, 2022 – 1872, 1922, and 1972 in review – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 454
Bill and Rachel discuss some interesting American history topics from 150, 100, and 50 years ago that did not make the cut for their own full anniversary episodes this year. Links and notes for ep. 454 (PDF):...
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Dec 18, 2022 – The Thibodaux Massacre of 1887 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 453
In 1887, the Knights of Labor organized a huge strike by Black sugarcane workers in Louisiana, which was suppressed with massive lethal force. (Content warning.) New Orleans-based guest Justin LaGrande returns to discuss the circumstances and recent efforts to bring it to greater light. Links and...
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Dec 11, 2022 – The Burlington Railroad Strike of 1888 – Arsenal For Democracy Ep. 452
Bill and Rachel examine the relatively minor failed Burlington railroad engineers and firemen strike in 1888, which had a profound effect on Eugene V. Debs. Links and notes for ep. 452 (PDF):...