In the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New Deal.”
Over the decade 1933-43, a constellation of federally sponsored programs put millions of jobless Americans back to work and helped to revive a moribund economy. His administration created what came to be known as the alphabet agencies.
The result was a rich landscape of public works across the nation, often of outstanding beauty, utility and craftsmanship – all built to serve civic purposes. Many of those agencies and the projects they created are still with us. We’ll look at the lasting impact the New Deal has had on America.
Guests:
- Gray Brechin, founder of the nonprofit Living New Deal
- Scott Borchert, author of Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers to Rediscover America
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