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By the beginning of 1938, it was clear that the Spanish Nationalists were likely to win the civil war. Only the USSR came to the Republic’s aid, but the Soviet aid favored pro-Soviet Communists at the expense of anti-Soviet elements in the Republic.

The Republicans continued to hold out hope that Britain and France would come to their aid, but those countries were more interested in maintaining peaceful relations with the Nationalists’ allies, Germany and France.

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Rapsodie Espagnole
Composed in 1908 by Maurice Ravel. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra, directed by Barbara Schubert, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Two weeks after his second inaugural, Franklin Roosevelt announced a plan to restructure the Federal courts. The plan was received without enthusiasm, even by fellow Democrats in Congress.

It would be the first of several missteps that would end Franklin Roosevelt’s remarkable series of political victories.

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Those Crazy Cats

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Early radio mimicked the forms of live entertainment, particularly concerts, theatre, and vaudeville. By the late 1930s, these forms evolved into distinctively broadcast forms. Classical music concerts gave way to popular music, especially dance bands. Theatre became radio drama. And vaudeville comedy developed into humor about domestic life, becoming the situation comedy.

These forms became the template for broadcast entertainment on radio, and later television, for the rest of the twentieth century.

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Advertising agencies as we know them today emerged around the turn of the twentieth century. At first, they placed ads in newspapers and magazines, and were reluctant to move into the new medium of radio.

But in the United States, the attitude toward advertising on radio went from hostile to cautious to enthusiastic in about ten years. By the late 1930s, advertisers all but controlled American radio.

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Radio commercials for Pepsodent, Bromo-Seltzer, and Signal Oil included in this episode are believed to be in the public domain, or in the alternative, that their inclusion here constitutes fair use. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.