After WWII, hundreds of Nazi scientists weren’t punished—they were welcomed into the United States under Operation Paperclip. Nazi researchers like Wernher von Braun helped build America’s rocket programs, company towns, and even shaped the founding of government agencies like NASA.

We dive deep into how U.S. eugenics programs inspired Hitler’s policies, how powerful American families funded that early racist “science,” and how the U.S. government delayed intervention in WWII while eyeing Nazi research. Learn how rural America was transformed by German scientists, how their arrival helped normalize authoritarian practices, and why 2025’s rise in book bans, surveillance, and dehumanization mirrors tactics from Nazi Germany.

If you’ve ever wondered how history’s darkest choices ripple forward into today’s political climate, this is the episode you can’t afford to miss.

🔎 Topics Covered:

• Operation Paperclip explained

• U.S. eugenics and its impact on Nazi Germany

• How robber baron families supported racist science

• Nazi scientists’ role in shaping NASA and rural company towns

• The hidden authoritarian legacy influencing America today

• Real examples of rising fascism in 2025 America

🎙️ Subscribe to Ripples of Rebels for more deep dives into hidden histories that still shape our world.

#OperationPaperclip #HiddenHistory #NASA #WWII #Authoritarianism #Eugenics #Resistance #HistoryPodcast #SpaceRace #RipplesOfRebels

Citations:

Books:

• Black, Edwin. War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race. Dialog Press, 2012.

• Jacobsen, Annie. Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America. Little, Brown and Company, 2014.

• Hunt, Linda. Secret Agenda: The United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip, 1945–1990. St. Martin’s Press, 1991.

• Simpson, Christopher. Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.

• Friedlander, Henry. The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution. University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

• Kevles, Daniel J. In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. Harvard University Press, 1995.

Government Documents and Reports:

• United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Biography of Wernher von Braun. NASA History Office, https://history.nasa.gov/vonbraun.htm.

• United States National Security Agency (NSA). Untangling the Web: A Guide to Internet Research. NSA, 2007.

Articles and Secondary Sources:

• Lipstadt, Deborah E. “Holocaust Denial and the Rise of Antisemitism in America.” The Atlantic, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com.

• Levin, Sam. “US Surveillance Technology Now Deployed Against Protesters.” The Guardian, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com.

• Southern Poverty Law Center. Hatewatch Reports on Extremism and Authoritarian Movements in the U.S. SPLC, https://www.splcenter.org.

• National Public Radio (NPR). “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.” NPR, 2019, https://www.npr.org.

Historical Context Sources:

• Kuhl, Stefan. The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National Socialism. Oxford University Press, 1994.

• Whitman, James Q. Hitler’s American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law. Princeton University Press, 2017.

Company Towns and Labor History:

• Crawford, Margaret. Building the Workingman’s Paradise: The Design of American Company Towns. Verso, 1995.

• Green, Hardy. The Company Town: The Industrial Edens and Satanic Mills That Shaped the American Economy. Basic Books, 2010.

Who would have thought an anarchist & activist could be up for Sainthood? In this episode we explore the incredible life of Pacifist Nun Dorthy Day, how she’s challenged norms in life & in the path to Sainthood, and learn about the other women she has inspired to keep fighting the good fight.

Ripples of Rebels is working to bring credible educational resources with intersectional, diverse perspectives to the internet. Subscribe to help support!

Citations:

• Coles, Robert. Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion. Addison-Wesley, 1987.

• Day, Dorothy. The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day. Harper & Row, 1952.

• Ellsberg, Robert. Dorothy Day: Selected Writings. Orbis Books, 1992.

• Forest, Jim. Love Is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day. Orbis Books, 2006.

• Miller, William D. Dorothy Day: A Biography. Harper & Row, 1982.

• “Dorothy Day: Revolution of the Heart.” American Experience, PBS, 2020. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dorothy-day/

• U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Dorothy Day.” USCCB.org. https://www.usccb.org/dorothy-day

Today we dive into the cobblestone streets of 1899 New York City, where a ragtag army of working-class kids—many orphaned, homeless, and dirt poor—took on two of the most powerful men in American media: Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. These “Newsies,” armed with nothing but determination, organized a strike that shook the foundations of corporate journalism.

But this story isn’t just about child labor or street protests—it’s also about yellow journalism, the sensationalist media tactics used by Pulitzer and Hearst to manipulate public opinion, sell papers, and even sway political events. We’ll trace how their cutthroat rivalry fed misinformation, contributed to war fever, and laid the groundwork for the media ecosystem we live in today.

Through the lens of the Newsboys Strike, we explore how media power, misinformation, and youth rebellion intersected in a moment that still echoes in today’s battles over labor rights and press ethics, and uncover how the press has always been both a tool of liberation—and manipulation.

To see the Youtuber’s video I reference, click here!

Citations:

📚 Books & Biographies

Nasaw, David.

Children of the City: At Work and at Play. Anchor Press, 1985.

DiGirolamo, Vincent.

Crying the News: A History of America’s Newsboys. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Charles River Editors.

Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst: The Lives and Careers of the Publishers Who Transformed the Media Industry. Charles River Editors, 2018.

📰 Articles & Primary Sources

Zinn Education Project.

“July 18, 1899: Newsboys Strike in New York.” Zinn Education Project, https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/newsboys-strike/.

Library of Congress.

“Newsies: Topics in Chronicling America.” Library of Congress, https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-newsies.

City Hall Park 1899.

“Newspaper Articles.” City Hall Park 1899, https://cityhallpark1899.com/newspaper-articles/.

Rutgers University Center for Youth Political Participation.

“Newsboys Strike of 1899.” Center for Youth Political Participation, https://cypp.rutgers.edu/newsboys-strike-of1899/.

📰 Yellow Journalism & the Spanish-American War

U.S. Department of State – Office of the Historian.

“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism, 1895–1898.” Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/yellow-journalism.

PBS.

“William Randolph Hearst – Crucible of Empire.” PBS Online, https://www.pbs.org/crucible/bio_hearst.html.

EBSCO Research Starters.

“Hearst-Pulitzer Circulation War.” EBSCO Research Starters, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/hearst-pulitzer-circulation-war.

🧑‍💼 Biographies & Legacy

Pulitzer Prizes.

“Biography of Joseph Pulitzer.” The Pulitzer Prizes, https://www.pulitzer.org/page/biography-joseph-pulitzer.

Wikipedia Contributors.

“William Randolph Hearst.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Randolph_Hearst.

Today we dive into one of the most infamous pieces of economic legislation in American history: the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. Backed by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis Hawley, this law was intended to protect American jobs and industries during the early days of the Great Depression. Instead? It made a bad situation much, much worse.

We break down:

• What a tariff actually is—and how it works in today’s global economy.

• Why Smoot and Hawley believed their bill would help America.

• How this policy triggered a global trade war, deepened the Depression, and caused ripple effects still felt today.

• And finally, how Donald Trump’s modern-day tariff policies echo this painful past—offering a warning about repeating history in the age of globalization.

If you’ve ever wondered how policy from nearly a century ago can still shape your grocery bill, your job, or your future, this episode is for you.

See Andrew Chang’s breakdown of Donald Trump’s Tariff calculations on CBC here.

Citations:

1. Britannica. (n.d.). Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Smoot-Hawley-Tariff-Act

2. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. (n.d.). Reed Smoot. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000644

3. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. (n.d.). HAWLEY, Willis Chatman. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000379

4. Investopedia. (2011). What Is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act? History, Effect, and Reaction. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smoot-hawley-tariff-act.asp

5. National Association of Manufacturers. (2025). Tariffs: 1930 Versus 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://nam.org/tariffs-1930-versus-2015-33709/

6. American Express. (2023). What Is a Global Supply Chain?. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/what-is-a-global-supply-chain/

7. Peterson Institute for International Economics. (2018). What Is Globalization?. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.piie.com/microsites/globalization/what-is-globalization

8. The White House. (2025). Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares National Emergency to Increase Our Competitive Edge, Protect Our Sovereignty, and Strengthen Our National and Economic Security. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-national-emergency-to-increase-our-competitive-edge-protect-our-sovereignty-and-strengthen-our-national-and-economic-security/

9. Yale Budget Lab. (2025). The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of All U.S. Tariffs Enacted in 2025 Through April. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/where-we-stand-fiscal-economic-and-distributional-effects-all-us-tariffs-enacted-2025-through-april

10. CBC News. (2025). What Trump’s sweeping tariffs mean for the US economy and you [Video]. Retrieved April 6, 2025, from https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6711188

In the depths of the Great Depression, a group of fearless women rode on horseback across the rugged Appalachian Mountains, delivering books to families who had never owned one before. Among them was Rose Farmer Thomas, a dedicated librarian who braved treacherous terrain and deep-seated resistance to bring literacy and hope to isolated communities.

In this episode of Ripples of Rebels, we uncover the story of the Pack Horse Library program, a WPA initiative that transformed education in rural America. We’ll explore how these librarians fought for access to knowledge, the challenges they faced, and the lasting impact of their work.

Join us as we ride through history and discover how one woman’s quiet rebellion helped shape the future of literacy in America.

Find Oregon Summer Star’s website here. Fundraiser is April 26th, 2025, Troutdale Food Station, 5-8 P.M.. You can also give monetary donations here. Follow their socials here!

Learn more about protests near you, & the 50501 Movement here!

Citations

“Horseback Librarians of Kentucky.” American Experience, PBS, 19 Dec. 2017, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/horseback-librarians-kentucky/.

Henson, Heather. That Book Woman. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008.

Lush, Paige. “Delivering Books on Horseback: The Pack Horse Library Project.” Library of Congress Blogs, 23 Apr. 2020, https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2020/04/delivering-books-on-horseback/.

Smith, Kathi Appelt. Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. HarperCollins, 2001.

Vincent, Beverly M. “Packhorse Librarians in Appalachia.” Kentucky Libraries, vol. 70, no. 3, 2006, pp. 2–6.

Before you come for the spellings of Nickle— the 555th were named after the “Buffalo Nickle”, which isn’t ever spelt how we spell the metal or currency nickel. However I used both for SEO reasons ;)For more information on the Triple Nickles, you can visit museums in Pendleton, Oregon, where they have aviation history on all of this, as well as history commemorating the Triple Nickles at the Pendleton Underground Tours. If you are someone from my hometown, they are always looking for volunteer tour guides!

You can follow Ben on Instagram to see what else he is up to here: https://www.instagram.com/territory_ranger/

Citations for this episode include:

Triple Nickles (555th Parachute Infantry Battalion):

• Morden, Bettie J. The Women’s Army Corps, 1945–1978. Center of Military History, United States Army, 1990.

• Williams, Rob. “All Blood Runs Red: Triple Nickle Paratroopers Jump Start Integration in the U.S. Army.” Ohio Academy of History Proceedings, 2022, pp. 70-85. (Ohio Academy of History)

Fu-Go Balloon Bombs:

• Coen, Ross. Fu-Go: The Curious History of Japan’s Balloon Bomb Attack on America. University of Nebraska Press, 2014. (Nebraska Press)

• Mikesh, Robert C. Japan’s World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.

• Rogers, J. David. “Japanese Vengeance Balloon Bombs of World War II.” Forensic Geology Case Histories, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2007. (Missouri S&T)

If you want to read the brochure about Mitchell Monument yourself, you can find that here.

What would you do if a company took over your town or country, while defended by one of the most powerful countries in the world? Would you fall in line, even when the wages were barely above slave wages? Would you watch in silence as police forces rounded up your neighbors and executed them just for being locals who opposed the company takeover? Would you step aside as they destroyed every last piece of land and drop of water? Some may think these are ridiculous questions to entertain, but for many around the world these are real questions they’ve had to face. Today we are talking about someone who had to face these questions, and was stuck in a place where many would argue that left them no option but to fight. If you’d like to help organizations working to fix the damage done as discussed in this episode, you can donate to places like the Smithsonian who are working on projects such as the Caribbean Indigenous Legacies Project or organizations like Care that work to fix agricultural systems in these countries.

Learn more about issues related to this episode:

* Guantanamo Bay

* School of the Americas

delaneyxclara’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Citations:

Che Guevara:

• Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. Grove Press, 1997.

• Castañeda, Jorge G. Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara. Vintage Books, 1998.

• Taibo II, Paco Ignacio. Ernesto Guevara, Also Known as Che. St. Martin’s Press, 1997.

Bay of Pigs Invasion:

• Gleijeses, Piero. Ships in the Night: The CIA, the White House and the Bay of Pigs. Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 27, no. 1, 1995, pp. 1-42.

• Kornbluh, Peter. Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba. The New Press, 1998.

• Rasenberger, Jim. The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America’s Doomed Invasion of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. Scribner, 2011.

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and/or pledged so far! I really appreciate it.

You might’ve heard something called the “Pale of Settlement” referenced in current events more recently— I know I have.

So in this episode we travel through time, starting in biblical times, leading to present day, discussing how the Pale of Settlement has made a huge ripple throughout time. From possibly murdering husbands for absolute power by staging government coups, to destabilizing countries through strategically caused civil war— this episode has it all. The Russian Empire usually never fails to blow your mind in what they did.If you want to help international issues happening today, you can find UN affiliated organizations to support here.

delaneyxclara’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Citations:

• Kappeler, Andreas. The Russian Empire: A Multi-Ethnic History. Routledge, 2001.

• Klier, John D. Imperial Russia’s Jewish Question, 1855–1881. Cambridge University Press, 1995.

• Nathans, Benjamin. Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter with Late Imperial Russia. University of California Press, 2002.

• McNamara, Robert. “The Pale of Settlement.” University of Washington. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://staff.washington.edu/rmcnamar/link269/article1.html.

• “Where Did Early Israelites Come From?” Biblical Archaeology Society. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/collections/where-did-early-israelites-come/.

• “The Arab-Israeli War of 1948.” U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/ea/97187.htm#:~:text=Since%20the%20Arab%2DIsraeli%20War,tensions%20in%20the%20Middle%20East.

• “Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1947.” United Nations. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.un.org/unispal/history2/origins-and-evolution-of-the-palestine-problem/part-i-1917-1947/.

• Kochavi, Arieh J. “The Struggle Against Jewish Immigration to Palestine.” In Britain and the Jews of Europe 1939–1945, 193-230. Oxford University Press, 1998. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://academic.oup.com/book/33589/chapter-abstract/288065012?redirectedFrom=fulltext.

• “How Poland’s Anti-Semites Helped Colonise Palestine.” Middle East Eye. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-polands-anti-semites-helped-colonise-palestine#:~:text=The%20Polish%20Army%2C%20now%20incorporated,and%20joined%20the%20Zionist%20colonists.

• “Jews in Anders’ Army.” Yad Vashem. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/academic/jews-anders-army.html.

• Krapfl, James. “How Catherine the Great May Have Inspired Putin’s Ukraine Invasion.” The Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2022. https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-701308.

• “Palus.” In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, edited by William Smith, William Wayte, and G. E. Marindin. Perseus Digital Library. Accessed February 13, 2025.. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0063%3Aentry%3Dpalus-cn#:~:text=PALUS%20a%20pole%20or%20stake,it%20were%20a%20real%20enemy.

What did America look like before the creation of public lands & federal agencies? Learn about how they helped pull us out of the Great Depression, and how much the contribute to our economy today on Episode 2 of Ripples of Rebels.

Learn more about public land creation’s impacts on indigenous communities here: Parks. Podcast

Donate to Public Lands or organizations that support public lands here:

• National Park Foundation – The official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, supporting national parks through conservation and preservation efforts.

• The Conservation Fund – Works to protect land and water resources across the U.S. for communities and wildlife.

• National Forest Foundation – Supports U.S. National Forests through tree planting, restoration projects, and public engagement.

• The Wilderness Society – Advocates for the protection and preservation of America’s wild places.

• Trust for Public Land – Focuses on creating parks and protecting public land to ensure access for all communities.

• Land Trust Alliance – Works with land trusts across the country to protect public lands and open spaces.

Organizations Supporting Public Land & Wildlife Conservation

• Defenders of Wildlife – Focuses on the protection of native species and their habitats.

• National Wildlife Federation – Works to protect wildlife and restore ecosystems across the U.S.

• Sierra Club Foundation – Supports climate solutions, conservation efforts, and equitable access to public lands.

• The Nature Conservancy – Protects critical land and water resources for biodiversity and climate resilience.

• American Hiking Society – Supports trail conservation and access to hiking on public lands.

Public Land Defense & Legal Advocacy

• Earthjustice – Uses legal action to defend public lands from exploitation and environmental harm.

• Center for Biological Diversity – Focuses on legal and advocacy efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats.

• Western Environmental Law Center – Provides legal support to protect public lands in the western U.S.

Indigenous-Led Land Protection Organizations

• Native Land Conservancy – Protects and restores land for Indigenous stewardship.

• Indian Land Tenure Foundation – Supports Native land ownership and stewardship initiatives.

• Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples – Supports Indigenous environmental and land conservation projects.

Citations include:

Public Lands Management and Funding

• United States. Bureau of Land Management. Bureau of Land Management Public Lands and Administrative Jurisdictions. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 2005.

• United States. Bureau of Land Management. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as Amended. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Public Affairs, 2016.

• United States. Bureau of Land Management. Bureau of Land Management FY 2020 Budget Justification and Performance Information. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2019.

New Deal Programs

• United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Lands. Civilian Conservation Corps: Hearings before the Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives, Seventy-Third Congress, First Session, on H.R. 6206. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1933.

Recent Legislative Changes Affecting Public Lands

• United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Pending Legislation: Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2021.

• United States. Congressional Research Service. Federal Lands and Related Resources: Overview and Selected Issues. Congressional Research Service, 2019.

• United States. Congressional Research Service. Energy Production on Federal Lands: Leasing and Authorization. Congressional Research Service, 2023.

• United States, Congress, House. Western Economic Security Today Act of 2024. Congress.gov, 118th Congress, H.R. 3397, introduced in House 9 Feb. 2024. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3397

• United States, Congress, Senate. A Bill to Require the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to Withdraw a Rule of the Bureau of Land Management Relating to Conservation and Landscape Health. Congress.gov, 118th Congress, S. 1435, introduced in Senate 3 May 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1435

• United States, Congress, House. Western Economic Security Today Act of 2023: Report Together with Dissenting Views (to Accompany H.R. 3397). U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2024. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-118hrpt378/pdf/CRPT-118hrpt378.pdf

• “H.R. 3397, WEST Act of 2023.” Congressional Budget Office, 1 June 2024. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59674

• “Bills Will Silence Voices, Keep Drilling, Mining Top Uses of Public Lands.” The Wilderness Society, 3 May 2023. https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/bills-will-silence-voices-keep-drilling-mining-top-uses-public-lands

Most people know the classic Cinderella story—rags to riches, a fairy-tale ending. But what if Cinderella wasn’t rescued by a prince? What if she picked up a pen, and joined the revolution?Join as we dive into the untold story of a woman who refused to stay silent. Have questions or suggestions? Feel free to comment or send me a message:

Citations:• Hochschild, Adam. Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

• Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. University of Illinois Press, 2000.

• Foner, Philip S. Women and the American Labor Movement: From Colonial Times to the Eve of World War I. Free Press, 1979.

• Kennedy, David M. Over Here: The First World War and American Society. Oxford University Press, 1980.

• Kornbluh, Joyce. Rebel Voices: An IWW Anthology. PM Press, 2011.