In the first episode of this eight-part series, we take a look at beginnings. We uncover the humble origins of Father Charles Coughlin and his fellow antisemite, Henry Ford. We also investigate how the dawn of radio combined with world-shattering events to fuel Coughlin’s meteoric rise.

Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source.

For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.