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Episode 10 : Pennies, Pride, and Potatoes: Surviving the Great Depression

Episode 10 : Pennies, Pride, and Potatoes: Surviving the Great Depression

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 In this episode, we crack open the dusty history vault and peer into the gritty, heartbreaking, yet strangely inspiring world of the 1930s Great Depression. Based on the documentary When the World Breaks, we explore how a sudden financial free-fall turned Wall Street into a ghost town and families into survival units. There’s tragedy (milk was a luxury), shame (men disappeared into shantytowns out of guilt), and even a would-be bank robber dad who came home with nothing but tears and a quarter. It’s a crash course in what happens when an economy tanks and everyone thinks it’s somehow their fault. But it’s not all doom and gloom—okay, mostly doom, but with glimmers of very creative gloom. From stealing chickens to starting backyard businesses, Americans showed resilience that deserves a standing ovation (or at least a bartered potato). We discuss how comedy was born from catastrophe, how FDR’s New Deal attempted to stitch a safety net with mixed results, and how the arts became the nation's emotional therapy. So, buckle up for a wild, weepy ride through history where the only thing more volatile than the stock market was human dignity—and maybe the price of milk.

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