257: An Orgy of Speculation

October 24, 2021October 16, 2021 Mark Podcast

A period share certificate for General Motors. During the Roaring Twenties, GM became the most profitable corporation in the world, and a darling of Wall Street.

Europe began a fragile economic recovery in 1924. In the United States, ever-rising corporate profits fueled an ever-rising stock market, until Wall Street began drawing away needed investment capital from Europe, and beyond.

In the US, the Federal Reserve was divided between those who wanted to raise interest rates to dampen the stock market, and those who wanted to lower them to support the Europeans.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

“The Charleston”
Composed by James P. Johnson and Cecil Mack. Public domain.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

256: When the Levees Broke

October 17, 2021October 16, 2021 Mark Podcast

Poultry and livestock take refuge atop a levee during the Mississippi flooding of 1927.

The year 1927 saw historic flooding in the Mississippi Valley. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Most of the victims were African American, but flood relief mainly went to whites.

Herbert Hoover, who had been called “The Great Humanitarian,” was put in charge of flood relief. But even as the Mississippi receded, a different kind of flood was affecting Wall Street and the global economy.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

“It Had to Be You”
By Isham Jones and Gus Kahn. Public domain.
Performed by Frank Milne. Public domain piano roll, transcribed for MIDI by Kevin Chan and used with permission. Thanks, Kevin! Source.

Closing Theme

255: Mussolini Is Always Right

October 10, 2021October 2, 2021 Mark Podcast

Omar al-Mukhtar (center) in the custody of the Italian Army. He would soon be executed.

By 1927, Mussolini had what amounted to dictatorial power in Italy. He used it at home to crack down on his political opponents.

He also cracked down in Libya. Officially an Italian possession since 1912, Italy had only ever controlled a few coastal enclaves. Now, the Fascists would employ modern weaponry to end the resistance there.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Istakhbar Mezmoum”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Lazaar Ben Dali Yahia. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme

254: The Century of the State

October 3, 2021October 2, 2021 Mark Podcast

America’s first family of the cinema, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, show their friends what they learned on their visit to Rome.

Mussolini took power in Italy lawfully, but almost at once began referring to the “Fascist Revolution.”

Policy was not Mussolini’s main concern. Power was, and from the beginning, he looked for ways to ensure that he and the Fascist Party would rule Italy forever.