From the depths of the Great Depression to the dawn of American global power, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal reshaped the nation’s economy, politics, and social contract. Hosts Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal alphabet agencies—the AAA, WPA, TVA, and SEC—that put millions to work and redefined the role of government. They dissect FDR’s leadership through crises: the Banking Holiday, the fireside chats, the court-packing fight, and the contentious creation of Social Security. The series examines the New Deal’s racial complexities—how programs often excluded African Americans and women—and its legacy in debates over infrastructure, federal power, and economic justice that echo today. From the Dust Bowl to the rise of labor unions, from Huey Long’s populist challenge to the Supreme Court’s constitutional showdown, this show digs into the triumphs and failures of a transformative era. What does it mean to ‘save capitalism from itself’? And how did the New Deal plant seeds for the modern welfare state, the civil rights movement, and today’s partisan divides? Join Lucas and Luna for a deep, nuanced conversation about a moment when America remade itself—and why its lessons still matter.
