Arsenal for Democracy

Patrick from “Conspiracy You Can Believe In” returns to the show to talk with Bill about the Amnesty Act from 150 years ago this month that brought a younger generation of ex-Confederates back into elected office during Reconstruction. Links and notes for ep. 424 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AFD-Ep-424-Links-and-Notes-Amnesty-Act-of-1872.pdf Theme music by Stunt … Read more

A series on understanding the transition of the US economy in the Crisis of the 1970s: The episode on the 50th Anniversary of Panda Diplomacy and Nixon’s trip to China. (A Bill solo episode recorded April 23, 2022.) Subscribe to our Patreon. Links and notes (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/That-70s-Woe_-The-Problem-with-Pandas-Episode-3.pdf

Bill and Rachel continue the story of US electrification by looking at the 1930s New Deal programs to bring grid power to rural farms (and compare to what was going on in the Soviet Union at the same time). Links and notes for ep. 422 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AFD-Ep-422-US-Rural-Electrification.pdf Theme music by … Read more

Bill and Rachel continue the story of US electrification with a look at the indelible role of electric streetcars in powering US cities almost overnight in the 1890s. Links and notes for ep. 421 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AFD-Ep-421-Links-and-Notes-US-Urban-Electrification-and-Streetcars-Bill_Rachel-Recording-Apr-10-2022.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel finally start looking at the history of US electrification beginning with the early little battery systems and then moving into early electromagnetic dynamos. Links and notes for ep. 420 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AFD-Ep-420-Links-and-Notes-From-Electrochemistry-to-Electromagnetism.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel discuss the invention and economic legacy (and environmental consequences) of synthetic dye. Links and notes for ep. 419 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AFD-Ep-419-Links-and-Notes-Synthetic-Dyes.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Biotechnology has been important to other US industries from the auto industry to medicine and agriculture, before eventually becoming its own industry, dominated by venture capitalists. Bill and Rachel. Links and notes for ep. 418 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AFD-Ep-418-Links-and-Notes-Fermentation-Biotechnology-and-Penicillin.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Bill and Rachel discuss a specific air brake technology from 1872 that eventually had profound effects on the US economy and rail labor safety, especially after a Progressive Era bill mandated it. Links and notes for ep. 417 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AFD-Ep-417-Links-and-Notes-Westinghouse-Air-Brakes.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.

Unlocked from our Patreon: Air conditioning began as a process for controlling humidity in industrial factory processes before it became about cooler human comforts. But it was also a key part of the military-industrial complex. Bill and Rachel. Links and notes for Ep. 357 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AFD-Ep-357-Links-and-Notes-Early-Air-Conditioning.pdf Theme music by Stunt … Read more

Rachel and Bill discuss the history of US industrial cheese production from cream cheese and Kraft American cheese to US Government Cheese in the 1980s. Links and notes for Ep. 416 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AFD-Ep-416-Links-and-Notes-Industrial-Cheeses.pdf Theme music by Stunt Bird.