
A history podcast dedicated to examining the global history of the 1920s and 30s in order to explain the causes of World War II, both large and small. As you might imagine, there’s a lot of ground to cover just to contextualize how the conflict got so out of control. If you love historical deep-dives and play-by-plays of nations in way over their collective heads, this is the show for you. Best niche history podcast out there! PROTIP: If you’re a new listener and are hopelessly confused by me bouncing from topic to topic, the scope of this show has kinda gotten away from me over the years. I have included an index of miniseries in the description of Episode 1 to provide a guide for what I’ve covered so far.
Episodes

Sunday May 21, 2023
Episode 124 - Goldbugs
Sunday May 21, 2023
Sunday May 21, 2023
At first it looked like the Great Depression would be just another run of the mill recession. But the bubble that was the US economy popped right at the same time much of Europe was entering a general fiscal crisis, which in turn undermined the Gold Standard system most nations were a part of. The imbalances created by the Gold Standard proved unsustainable, and its collapse led to a free for all as every nation had its own answer to the crisis.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Clavin, Patricia The Great Depression in Europe, 1929-1939 St. Martin's Press 2000
- Hall, Thomas E. and J. David Ferguson The Great Depression: An International Disaster of Perverse Economic Policies University of Michigan Press 1998
- Rothermund, Dietmar The Global Impact of the Great Depression 1929-1939 Routledge 1996
- Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999
- Moser, John E. The Global Great Depression and the Coming of World War II Routledge 2016
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday May 14, 2023
Episode 123 - Onset of Depression
Sunday May 14, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
Season 2 kicks off here with an introduction to the early days of the Great Depression! Fun! Nothing did more to undermine to world order fitfully constructed during the 1920s like this mother of all economic disasters. And what really made this crisis of Capital so severe was the financial sector's implosion in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929. Suddenly, the very thing that underpinned the entire system stopped working.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Galbraith, James K. The Great Crash 1929 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2009
- Hall, Thomas E. and J. David Ferguson The Great Depression: An International Disaster of Perverse Economic Policies University of Michigan Press 1998
- Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999
- Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday Feb 12, 2023
Episode 122 - End of an Era
Sunday Feb 12, 2023
Sunday Feb 12, 2023
It's the end of Season 1 and I take stock of what's been covered up to this point, big trends, takeaways, that sort of thing. See you in three months!
Bibliography for this episode:
- Please see the previous 121 episodes.
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Episode 121 - Crashing
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Today the United States miniseries goes out with the bang of the 1929 stock market crash. It was a confluence of bad decisions, inaction, greed, and terrible timing all coming together to create the great economic crisis of our times.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Galbraith, James K. The Great Crash 1929 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2009
- Hall, Thomas E. and J. David Ferguson The Great Depression: An International Disaster of Perverse Economic Policies University of Michigan Press 1998
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Whyte, Kenneth Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times Vintage Books 2017
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Episode 120 - Roaring
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
The 1920s became a legendary time in America as the consumer economy took center stage, and a dizzying array of goods heralded a new era in how people lived their lives. What was less legendary about the era was the dependence of consumers on credit, and the short-sightedness of the country's elites.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-1933 First Mariner Books 1957
- Kyvig, David E Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 Ivan R. Dee 2002
- Engerman, Stanley L. and Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Shlaes, Amity Coolidge Harper Collins 2013
- Whyte, Kenneth Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times Vintage Books 2017
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday Jan 22, 2023
Episode 119 - Mr. Harding Goes to Washington and Dies
Sunday Jan 22, 2023
Sunday Jan 22, 2023
Despite winning WWI and showing off its power to the rest of the world, the United States limped into 1920. Exhausted by a year of violence at home, a crippling recession, and runaway inflation, voter turned to the Republicans. And Republicans turned to a man that would symbolize the modest aspirations of the age, Warren G. Harding. Despite not lasting long, he'd set the tone for the rest of the decade.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-1933 First Mariner Books 1957
- Kyvig, David E Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 Ivan R. Dee 2002
- Engerman, Stanley L. and Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Iriye, Akira The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations Volume III: The Globalizing of America, 1913-1945 Cambridge University Press 1993
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Monday Jan 16, 2023
Episode 118 - Red Summer, Red Scare
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
The immediate aftermath of WWI would unleash one of the most harrowing years in America's history. The economic recession that immediately followed the end of the war helped spark violence and persecutions that rocked the country into 1920.
Bibliography for this episode:
- McWhirter, Cameron Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America St. Martin's Press 2011
- Krugler, David F. 1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back Cambridge University PRess 2015
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-1933 First Mariner Books 1957
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Monday Jan 09, 2023
Episode 117 - Destiny Deferred
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
By 1914 the United States was rich and confident, but also wise enough to stay out of WWI. The problem is though fights of that size have a tendency to drag nations into them, and America found itself involved after numerous German missteps. It would be a new situation for the country, as President Wilson assumed effective political leadership of the Entente, setting a vision for the post-war that his new allies had not expected.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-1933 First Mariner Books 1957
- Engerman, Stanley L. and Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Iriye, Akira The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations Volume III: The Globalizing of America, 1913-1945 Cambridge University Press 1993
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Monday Jan 02, 2023
Episode 116 - Conflicted Colossus
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
It's overview time once again and today I introduce the United States. It's main contribution to the failures of peace in the interwar period stem from its refusal to get entangled in European affairs. Which was a reluctance that had to do with internal conditions within the nation, and will be the focus of the first part of this series.
Bibliography for this episode:
- LaFeber, Walter The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations Volume II: The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913 Cambridge University Press 1993
- Iriye, Akira The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations Volume III: The Globalizing of America, 1913-1945 Cambridge University Press 1993
- Engerman, Stanley L. and Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume II: The Long Nineteenth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Engerman, Stanley L. and Robert E. Gallman The Cambridge Economic History of the United States Volume III: The Twentieth Century Cambridge University Press 2000
- Miller, Nathan New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Da Capo Press 2003
- Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-1933 First Mariner Books 1957
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Sunday Dec 25, 2022
Episode 115 - The Peace to End All War
Sunday Dec 25, 2022
Sunday Dec 25, 2022
The horrors of modern war shocked sensibilities enough that by the 1920s there were active efforts to outlaw war entirely. The idea's proponents would face obstacles from disinterested governments and even conflicts among each other. But by decade's end the world had come together in agreement with their principals.
Bibliography for this episode:
- Hathaway, Oona A. and Scott J. Shapiro The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World Simon and Schuster 2017
Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com
