There are few films that can be considered as perfect movies. But 1974's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three may be on that list. We're joined this week by Eric Rauchway, a professor at UC Davis and specialist of The New Deal. We break down what this movie has to say about American politics coming out of  World War II, the meaning of the subway to the people of New York City, and whether or not Walter Matthau is the first American action hero. You're going to like where this takes us.

About Eric Rauchway:
The author most recently of Why the New Deal Matters (Yale University Press, 2021), he writes about U.S. history with a focus on the period from 1933-1945. He is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Davis, and has written seven books of history, as well as a novel. I’ve been on National Public Radio, BBC Radio 4, C-SPAN, and the Black News Channel, among other media, and has written for the Times Literary Supplement, as well as Dissent, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and a variety of other publications.

You can find him on twitter at @rauchway