Historian Ted Widmer discusses his new podcast series "The Crack-Up" and how 1919 has shaped the 20th century and the modern world. He and host Alex Woodson speak about parallels to 2019, Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations, Babe Ruth, the early days of Hollywood, and populism in Europe in the aftermath of World War I. Don't miss a new "Crack-Up" tomorrow with Harvard historian Lisa McGirr about her New York Times article on prohibition and the American state.
Widmer is also working on an essay series with The New York Times on 1919. He kicked off the series on December 31 with his piece "1919: The Year of the Crack-Up." Last week, historian Patty O'Toole wrote an essay on Theodore Roosevelt and his progressive views on health care and recorded the first "Crack-Up" podcast with Widmer. And last month, Woodson and Widmer recorded a Global Ethics Weekly on the end of World War I and the future of American democracy.
