logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
17m 35s

The New York City Pig Wars (1859)

JODY AVIRGAN & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Yesterday
The Boston Molasses Disaster [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at another industrial disaster from the 1910s -- the time a river of molasses wiped out much of Boston's North End. While not as tragic as the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and somewhat ridiculous at its heart, the molasses flood was neverthe ... Show More
21m 24s
Mar 26
How Triangle Ushered In An Era Of Reform [Part 2]
Our conversation about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire continues with how reformers responded to the tragedy, and how those who witnessed the fire personally made it their life's mission to change labor laws in America.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to ... Show More
29m 55s
Mar 24
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1]
For the twelfth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1911 and the massive fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The fire started on the 8th floor, spread to the 9th and 10th, and would lead to deaths of almost 150 people, mostly po ... Show More
45m 41s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History
<p>We think of history as a neat chain of predictable events; but what if the truth is far wilder than that? Today, we're talking about the pivotal forces of randomness and chance, and how tiny moments can change the course of our human story.</p><br><p>Dan is joined by Brian Kla ... Show More
29m 28s
Aug 2025
Italians in America
From Columbus onwards, Italians have been a part of American culture. Don explores this rich history with Professor Anthony Tamburri, Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in New York.Produced by Sophie Gee and Freddy Chick. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Produce ... Show More
48m 21s
Oct 2025
The Cold War
For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for sup ... Show More
57m 50s
Sep 2025
The Victorians, Part 2 of 2
The Victorian era transformed Britain into the world’s foremost industrial and imperial power. The rise of factories saw the expansion of sprawling cities, inhabited by a working class trapped in grinding poverty. But while the ever-growing ranks of impoverished residents were do ... Show More
55m 45s
Sep 2025
The Victorians, Part 1 of 2
Over the course of Queen Victoria’s reign, Britain transformed into the world's foremost industrial and imperial power. The Victorians built railways that spanned continents, invented life-changing technologies, and expanded a vast realm that stretched from the Caribbean to India ... Show More
55m 35s
Oct 2025
303. Orwell: Fighting Fascism In The Spanish Civil War (Part 2)
Why did George Orwell go to Spain to fight on the Republican side against General Franco? Who saved his life when he was shot in the throat? How did internal feuds on the leftist side of the war influence his writing and his paranoia? In Part 2 of this miniseries, William and Ani ... Show More
40m 51s
Jul 2025
276. The Biggest Corruption Scandal in French History (Part 4)
How was George Eiffel of the Eiffel Tower involved in a huge corruption scandal associated with the Panama Canal? How many workers died during the French attempt to build the canal? And who was Bunau-Varilla and how did this smooth-talking moustache-wielding French engineer manag ... Show More
32m 1s
Nov 2025
304. Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984 & Totalitarian Dystopia (Part 3)
What was the inspiration behind George Orwell’s most famous works? Why did he move to the remote Scottish island of Jura to finish writing 1984? What was Orwell’s “Snitch List” which he handed over to the government after World War 2? In Part 3 of this miniseries, Anita and Willi ... Show More
48m 2s
Oct 2019
Episode 41: Racism and Capitalism in Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's Race For Profit
<p>In this episode we interviewed professor and author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor about her latest book <em>Race For Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership.</em> The book has already been put on the long-list for the National Book Award. Taylor ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2021
Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall, "Slave Revolt on Screen: The Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games" (UP of Mississippi, 2021)
Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote that “the silencing of the Haitian Revolution is only a chapter within a narrative of global domination. It is part of the history of the West and it is likely to persist, even in attenuated form, as long as the history of the West is not retold in wa ... Show More
1h 10m