The Podcast — The Great Depression

In Production

No Episodes Yet

We haven’t recorded a single conversation. Right now we’re reaching out to and interviewing the historians, economists, and archivists who will anchor each episode — making sure every voice on the show has spent real years in the primary sources before we hit record.

What’s Ahead

Two Series, Once We’re Ready

Series I will take the people one at a time, each with the scholar who knows them best. Series II will widen out to the decade itself. Neither has started recording — we’ll announce dates once the interview list is locked.

From the Prep Interviews

What We’re Already Learning

No episode has aired, but the pre-interviews are turning up the kind of detail that never makes it into the textbook version. A few things we didn’t expect to hear.

Economic Historian

“Eccles kept a private tally of dissenting votes.”

One historian we spoke with has gone through Eccles’s personal papers and found a running count he never made public — a different picture of how contested the Fed’s decisions really were.

Economist

“Keynes wrote the General Theory expecting to be misread.”

An economist walked us through the letters Keynes sent while drafting it — he predicted, almost line for line, which parts would get flattened into slogans.

Media Historian

“The fireside chats were rehearsed more than anyone admits.”

Broadcast scripts show pencil marks timing pauses to the second — the intimacy was engineered, not improvised, and that changes how you hear them.

In Conversation With

Who We’re Talking To

No pundits. We’re currently interviewing these historians, economists, and archivists for their perspectives before any episode airs.

Economic Historians

Banking & Monetary Policy

For perspective on Eccles, the Fed, and the plumbing of the crash.

Economists

Keynes & The General Theory

For perspective on Keynes as a person, not just a school of thought.

Biographers

Political Biography

For perspective on Huey Long and the case for holding contradictions at once.

Media Historians

Broadcasting & Persuasion

For perspective on Coughlin, radio, and the technology of intimacy.

Urban Historians

City Government

For perspective on La Guardia and machine politics.

Archivists

Primary Sources

For perspective on the camp logs, letters, and records behind the story.

Newsletter

The Great Depression, Monthly

New podcast guests and new articles from the archive, once a month — no more.