Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 – Part 1: To The Moon!
One of the worst financial disasters in history unfolded on Wall Street in late October of 1929. Within a week, 30 billion dollars had disappeared into thin air, leaving the global economy in tatters and heralding the beginning of a worldwide Depression. But what exactly happened? And why? In Part 1 of this 3-Part series on the Wall Street Crash of 1929, we discover how the American public became fatally infatuated with the stock market during the “Roaring 20’s”; and how one debauched day trader – Jesse Livermore – saw the whole thing coming.
SOURCES:
Ahamed, Liaquat. Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World. 2009.
Blumenthal, Karen. Six Days in October. 2002.
Charles Rivers Editors. Jesse Livermore. 2021.
Charles Rivers Editors. Wall Street. 2020.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. The Great Crash 1929. 1955.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. A Short History of Financial Euphoria. 1990.
Geisst, Charles R. Wall Street: A History. 1997.
Klein, Maury. Rainbow’s End. 2001.
Morris, Charles R. A Rabble of Dead Money. 2017.
Nations, Scott. A History of the United States in Five Crashes. 2017.
Parker, Selwyn. The Great Crash. 2008.
Perino, Michael. The Hellhound of Wall Street. 2010.
Rubython, Tom. Jesse Livermore: Boy Plunger. 2016.
Thomas, Gordon. Morgan-Witts, Max. The Day the Bubble Burst. 1979.
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Podcast Episodes
The Children’s Crusade 1212 – Part 1: Stephen of Cloyes
In the late spring of 1212, a spontaneous mass movement of 30,000 children arose in medieval France. Led by a 12-year-old shepherd boy named Stephen from the small village of Cloyes, the “Children’s Crusade” swore to mar…
The Panama Canal – Part 3: Make The Dirt Fly!
In the third and final installment of the series, President Theodore Roosevelt mobilizes the full industrial might of United States to “make the dirt fly” in Panama and succeed where the French Syndicate failed. But many…
The Panama Canal – Part 2: I Took The Isthmus
After the French project to build a canal through Panama collapses in 1889 amidst disease and financial scandal, US President Teddy Roosevelt resolves to pick up where they left off. However, powerful interests in Washin…
The Panama Canal – Part 1: Le Piège Mortel
In August of 1914, the United States of America completed a man-made waterway through the Panamanian isthmus, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time in history. But that engineering triumph was the cu…
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 2
As the Japanese police prepare for a raid on the Aum Shinrikyo compound, cult leader Shoko Asahara launches a desperate chemical weapons attack in downtown Tokyo. During the height of Monday morning rush hour, Aum terror…
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 1
On March 20th, 1995, the Tokyo subway system was flooded with sarin nerve gas in a coordinated terrorist attack by the religious cult Aum Shinrikyō. Led by the charismatic new-age guru, Shoko Asahara, the well-funded and…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 3
In the summer of 1960, all eyes are on Israel. As the Jewish nation unveils its capture of Adolf Eichmann to the world, a bitter controversy swirls around the notorious SS officer. Eichmann’s lawyer, Dr. Robert Servatius…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 2
Adolf Eichmann has been found. In the spring of 1960, Mossad launches a daring operation to kidnap “Ricardo Klement” and smuggle him back to Israel to face judgement. SOURCES: Aharoni, Zvi. Dietl, Wilhelm. Operation Eich…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 1
When World War II ended, SS officer Adolf Eichmann disappeared. As a key organizer of Nazi Germany’s Final Solution, the genocidal program that murdered 6 million European Jews, Eichmann became one of the most hunted men…
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 4
In the conclusion of the series, Justinian and Theodora face a cascade of setbacks and disasters. The Empress hatches a plan to destroy John the Cappadocian. Belisarius learns of Antonina’s serial infidelity. A deadly Pl…
