

The History of the Twentieth Century
Mark Painter
A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 12, 2021 • 43min
252: Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai!
In the early 1920s, Gandhi's first nationwide satyagraha campaign saw unprecedented Hindu-Muslim unity, but led to violence and failed to achieve its aims. Gandhi spent some time in prison, but by 1930, with a Labour government in power, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress felt ready to declare independence.

8 snips
Sep 5, 2021 • 45min
251 Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied
Discover how consumer dissatisfaction has driven the automotive industry's growth by shifting from basic needs to a culture of consumption. Learn about William Durant's rise in the car business, his innovative strategies, and the eventual formation of General Motors. Explore the transformation of cars from luxuries to necessities, along with the challenges of theft and competition. Delve into Edsel Ford's leadership at Ford Motor Company, grappling with family dynamics and modernization amid economic pressures.

Aug 29, 2021 • 49min
250 An Instinct for the Regrettable
Two of the twentieth century's worst technological innovations were leaded gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons. Both were introduced by the same person, engineer Thomas Midgley.

Aug 15, 2021 • 49min
249: Coming of Age in Samoa
In the 1920s, most took it for granted that Western civilization and culture was the pinnacle of human accomplishment. A 23-year-old graduate student set out to prove that this was not the case, and that even the West had something to learn from other cultures.

Aug 8, 2021 • 51min
248 Darwin's Dilemma
Charles Darwin himself noted that the development of civilization had "stopped" evolution by natural selection within our own human species. This led others to speculate on whether society could purposefully direct human evolution.

Aug 1, 2021 • 52min
247 Inherit the Wind
The state of Tennessee had made it a criminal offense to teach evolution in the public schools. The trial of John Scopes became the most famous court case in America of the period.

Jul 25, 2021 • 51min
246 The Great Debate II
If the first great scientific debate of the 1920s was over the size and composition of the Universe, the second was over the structure and nature of the atom. It turned out that the common-sense rules of our everyday world don't apply at the atomic level.

Jul 11, 2021 • 40min
245 Les années folles
The French know the Roaring Twenties as the "crazy years," when Coco Chanel was the queen of fashion and Dada art was making everyone scratch their heads.

Jul 4, 2021 • 41min
244 Anything Goes
Music has always been a part of theatre, from opera to vaudeville. But in the 1920s, the first true stage musicals appeared.

Jun 27, 2021 • 44min
243 The Algonquin Roundtable
New York City grew to be the most populous city in the world in the 1920s, as well as home to the world's tallest buildings and the world's champion smart alecks.