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 3: The Music Stops
After weeks of uncertainty and fear, the Great Crash finally arrives on October 24th, 1929. While America’s financial infrastructure burns, Jesse Livermore makes $100 million in a single week. Wall Street’s great cheerleader, Sunshine Charlie Mitchell, schemes and maneuvers to puff up the bull market and preserve his legacy. Amidst the wreckage of the Great Depression, a scrappy immigrant lawyer named Ferdinand Pecora leads a Federal investigation into Sunshine Charlie and National City Bank that shakes the very bedrock of American financial law.
SOURCES:
Ahamed, Liaquat. Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World. 2009.
Allen, Frederick Lewis. Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s. 1931
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 Third Temple: Yom Kippur War Part 1
The Yom Kippur War of 1973 has been described as the greatest military intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. This is the story of how a vengeful surprise attack almost destroyed the nation of Israel. Told through the…
Showdown at the Ikedaya Inn: Samurai Secret Police
On June 5th, 1864, the Shogun’s secret police raced against time to foil a sweeping terrorist plot in Kyoto. The ensuing bloodbath would have far-reaching consequences for the future of Japan. SOURCES: Hillsborough, Romu…
Pardon My French: The Marquis de Sade
The Marquis De Sade was a pariah in his time, a monster on the page, and a genius in death. But what crimes did the namesake of “sadism” actually commit? Where did his real-life appetites end…and his literary fantasies b…
McNamara's Boys: Lost Innocence in Vietnam
How the US government deliberately sent thousands of mentally-disabled men into combat during the Vietnam War. A bonus episode and companion to Episode 12: "The Good Guys". SOURCES: Gregory, Hamilton. McNamara's Folly: T…
The Good Guys: My Lai Massacre, Vietnam
The 1968 My Lai Massacre shocked Americans, but the true nature of the Vietnam War went far beyond anything the public could’ve imagined. This is the story of the war within the War, between the soldiers who brutalized V…
I Must Not Burn: The Bombing of Dresden 1945
In 1945, the German city of Dresden was consumed in a firestorm engineered by the Allies. Many consider it to be a war crime. Others, a necessary evil. SOURCES Taylor, Frederick. Dresden: Tuesday, February 13th, 1945. 20…
Roadies For Nero: An Epilogue
A bonus episode concerning the Praetorian Guard's musical and murderous relationship with Rome's fabulous fifth Emperor, Nero. An epilogue to E10: "Kingbreakers" SOURCES: Strauss, Barry. Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from…
Kingbreakers: The Praetorian Guard
The story of Rome through the eyes of the infamous Praetorian Guard, feared bodyguards who wielded the power and leverage to make – or break – the Emperors they swore to protect. SOURCES: Strauss, Barry. Ten Caesars: Rom…
Pax Mongolica: Genghis Khan & Kublai Khan
Genghis Khan and the Mongols killed millions, but were they actually woke AF? Let's tackle the surprisingly progressive (yet blood-drenched) legacy of one of history's most mysterious empires. SOURCES: Weatherford, Jack.…
Hate Thy Neighbor: Northern Ireland and the Troubles
Car bombs, hitmen, and hunger strikes. How "The Troubles" tore Northern Ireland apart. SOURCES: Toolis, Kevin. Rebel Hearts. 1995 McKittrick, David. Making Sense of the Troubles. 2000 Coogan, Tim Pat. The Troubles: Irela…
