Father Coughlin responds to the chaos of the Great Depression by creating a clear villain for his audiences: President Hoover, of course, but also the bankers he claimed controlled politicians and the communists he said were secretly infiltrating the country’s labor leadership. Any shred of subtlety evaporates as he rants on air about the Old Testament and the “atheist Jew Karl Marx.” CBS drops Coughlin from its lineup, but his influence only grows as he enters the political arena.
Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source.
For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.
Introducing: Covering Their Tracks
Introducing: Gatecrashers
Episode 8: The Ghost of Royal Oak
Episode 7: Sedition
Episode 6: Social Justice
Episode 5: His Cross to Bear
Episode 3: The Sound of America
Episode 2: Radio Days
Episode 1: In the Beginning...
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Lore