Arsenal for Democracy

Rachel and Bill discuss the history of the microwave oven since its invention at a defense contractor. Links and notes for ep. 451 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AFD-Ep-451-Links-and-Notes-Microwave-Oven.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

In this mini-episode, Rachel explains the invention of Ed Pulaski’s popular firefighting tool, a combination axe and adze, after the infamous Big Burn forest fire in Idaho in August 1910. Links and notes from ep. 450 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AFD-Ep-450-Links-and-Notes-The-Pulaski-Tool.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel explore the disappointments of the Great Southwest Railroad strike of 1886 and reflect on potential lessons for present-day railroad labor relations. (Note: After we recorded this episode, the results were released for the 2022 rail worker votes on tentative agreements. The engineers narrowly approved the proposed contract, … Read more

How the development of the autorack rail car from the 1950s to the 1980s might have contributed to the relocation of US auto industry factories inside the US. (Bill and Rachel.) Links and notes for ep. 448 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AFD-Ep-448-Links-and-Notes-The-Autorack.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel look at the arc of office document management technology from the 1886 filing cabinet to the 1959 Xerox machine and the required underlying developments that made them possible. Links and notes for ep. 447 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AFD-Ep-447-Links-and-Notes-From-Filing-Cabinets-to-Xerox.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel discuss the philosophy of the prominent antebellum public education champion (and abolitionist Congressman) Horace Mann of Massachusetts. Links and notes for ep. 446 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AFD-Ep-446-Links-and-Notes-Horace-Mann.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Rachel and Bill discuss the various legislation behind so-called Mine Reclamation and Superfund cleanup sites. Links and notes for ep. 445 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AFD-Ep-445-Links-and-Notes-Superfund-Sites-and-Mine-Reclamation.pdf Intro music by Stunt Bird.

Americans built thousands upon thousands of dams, large and small, across the US for centuries, but no longer do. In fact, dozens are being removed annually. Bill and Rachel look at the Teton Dam Collapse and the broader end of American dam-building. Links and notes for ep. 444 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AFD-Ep-444-Links-and-Notes-The-End-of-American-Dams.pdf … Read more

Bill and Rachel review Ben Tarnoff’s intriguing materialist history/policy book “Internet for the People” (Verso Books, 2022), which offers a critique of anti-monopoly reformism in favor of de-privatization. Notes for ep. 443 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Book-Review-Notes-on-_Internet-for-the-People_-by-Ben-Tarnoff-2022-Verso.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel look at southern Idaho’s curious history with irrigation land reclamation projects under the Carey Act in former beaver country and explore what this can tell us about American history much more broadly. Links and notes for ep. 442 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AFD-Ep-442-Links-and-Notes-Carey-Act.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.