The Economic History Podcast with Fexingo: Past Recessions, Booms, and Lessons from History

Fexingo

Lucas and Luna examine the economic booms and busts that shaped modern history, from the 1873 Long Depression to the 2008 financial crisis. Each episode is a focused conversation around a single historical period, drawing on original data, central bank archives, and contemporary newspaper accounts. Lucas offers the narrative arc—what caused the expansion, when the turning point came, why policy responses succeeded or failed—while Luna challenges assumptions, compares institutional frameworks across eras, and asks what lessons still apply today. Recent episodes include a granular look at the 1920–21 depression (often overlooked in favor of 1929), the role of railroad speculation in the Panic of 1893, and how post-WWII Bretton Woods policies differ from today's monetary regime. The listener is someone who reads economic history for its own sake—not for simple predictions, but to understand the recurring patterns of credit cycles, regulatory change, and political reactions to hardship. Lucas and Luna never simplify: they discuss real GDP figures, interest rate decisions, and the specific legislative acts that altered market dynamics. This is not a 'lessons from history' show that cherry-picks anecdotes; it is a rigorous, data-rich, and candid conversation about why some recoveries lasted and others did not. What does the 1837 panic tell us about modern debt crises that most economists miss? #EconomicHistory #PastRecessions #BoomsAndBusts #GreatDepression #PanicOf1893 #LongDepression #BrettonWoods #CreditCycles #MonetaryPolicy #CentralBanking #1921Depression #1837Panic #BusinessCycles #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Economics #HistoricalAnalysis #PolicyLessons Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  1. 1d ago

    How the 1962 Steel Crisis Shaped Presidential Economic Power

    In April 1962, President John F. Kennedy faced down the country's largest steel companies after they raised prices by $6 a ton—defying his administration's wage-price guidelines. Kennedy called the price hike a 'wholly unjustifiable' threat to national economic stability, launched a federal antitrust investigation, and publicly shamed U.S. Steel's chairman Roger Blough. Within 72 hours, Bethlehem Steel and others rolled back their increases. This episode examines how the confrontation redefined the limits of executive power over private industry and set a precedent for every president since—from Nixon's wage controls to Biden's antitrust push. We look at the political calculus, the economic stakes, and why a $6 price hike still echoes in Washington today. #JFK #SteelCrisis #1962 #PresidentialPower #Antitrust #PriceControls #USSteel #BethlehemSteel #RogerBlough #WagePriceGuidelines #EconomicHistory #ExecutivePower #BusinessAndGovernment #IndustrialPolicy #Economics #HistoryPodcast #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  2. 1d ago

    How the 1877 Railroad Strike Forced a New Labor Economics

    In July 1877, a 10% pay cut on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad sparked the first national labor uprising in American history. Over two weeks, strikes spread to 15 states, federal troops fired on crowds in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and the economy ground to a halt. This episode examines how the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 permanently changed the relationship between capital and labor. Lucas and Luna trace the economic conditions that triggered the walkout, the role of the telegraph in coordinating strikers, the corporate response that included hiring private militias, and the long-term consequences: the rise of Labor Day, the growth of union membership, and the first calls for federal arbitration laws. The episode uses the strike as a lens to understand how wage compression during deflationary periods creates systemic risk — a lesson economists still wrestle with in 2026. #GreatRailroadStrike1877 #LaborHistory #Economics #WageCompression #Deflation #BaltimoreAndOhio #LaborDay #FederalTroops #Pittsburgh #HaymarketAffair #KnightsOfLabor #CollectiveBargaining #Strike #BusinessHistory #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #EconomicHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  3. 1d ago

    How the 1913 Federal Reserve Act Rescued American Banking

    Lucas and Luna explore the Panic of 1907 and the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. Lucas explains how J.P. Morgan personally bailed out the banking system in 1907, leading to the realization that the U.S. needed a central bank. The episode covers the Aldrich Plan, the secret Jekyll Island meeting, and how the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 finally gave the U.S. an elastic currency and a lender of last resort. Specific numbers include the $25 million loan Morgan organized in 1907 and the 1913 act's creation of 12 regional banks. The hosts discuss how the Fed's dual mandate evolved and why its independence remains crucial today. #FederalReserve #PanicOf1907 #JPMorgan #CentralBanking #AldrichPlan #JekyllIsland #ElasticCurrency #LenderOfLastResort #BankingHistory #EconomicHistory #USEconomy #FinancialCrisis #MonetaryPolicy #DualMandate #BankingReform #Business #Economics #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  4. 2d ago

    How the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Made the Depression Worse

    In this episode of The Economic History Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, a protectionist trade policy that backfired spectacularly. They trace how the tariff, signed into law in June 1930, triggered retaliatory tariffs from over 25 countries, causing global trade to collapse by 65% between 1929 and 1934. The hosts focus on the specific case of American agricultural exports, which fell from $1.7 billion in 1929 to just $450 million in 1932, devastating farmers who had already been struggling. They also discuss the role of economist petitions against the bill, including a famous letter signed by 1,028 economists warning President Hoover of the consequences. The episode explores how the tariff exacerbated the Great Depression, shifted political alliances, and left lasting lessons for trade policy today, including parallels to the 2018-2019 trade tensions. A concise look at a pivotal moment in economic history that still influences debates over tariffs and globalization. #SmootHawleyTariff #GreatDepression #Protectionism #TradeWar #HerbertHoover #EconomicHistory #Tariffs #GlobalTrade #AgriculturalExports #1930 #EconomistPetition #RetaliatoryTariffs #TradeCollapse #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #EconomicsPodcast #TradePolicy #LessonsFromHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  5. 3d ago

    How the 1921 Depression Was Worse Than 1929

    When people talk about the Great Depression, they start in 1929. But the Depression of 1920-21 saw GDP drop 24% and unemployment hit 11.7% — and it was over in 18 months. Lucas and Luna dive into the forgotten panic: how the post-WWI demobilization, deflationary policy, and a very non-Keynesian response by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon actually worked. They look at the 1921 Pittsburgh steel strike, the collapse of the Liberty Bond market, and why modern economists are still split on whether Mellon's hands-off approach was brilliant or brutal. Also: how the 1921 depression created the modern Federal Reserve's playbook for 'liquidationist' policy — and why we never tried it again. #DepressionOf1920 #AndrewMellon #GreatDepression #PostWWIEconomics #Deflation #LiquidationistTheory #FederalReserve #Treasury #SteelStrike #LibertyBonds #WarrenGHarding #EconomicHistory #Recession #GDP #Unemployment #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  6. 3d ago

    The 1847 Irish Famine Relief That Created Modern Economics

    When the Irish potato crop failed in 1845, Britain faced a moral and economic dilemma: should it feed the starving or let the market decide? This episode unpacks the 1847 Soup Kitchen Act — a massive, short-lived government relief program that fed three million people daily, yet was shut down after just one year because officials feared it would create dependency. We explore how the Treasury's reliance on flawed Corn Law repeal forecasts, the ideological battle between laissez-faire and intervention, and the forgotten economist who used this crisis to pioneer modern cost-benefit analysis. The soup kitchens fed more people per pound spent than any Western relief program before or since — but they were dismantled just as the famine peaked. This is the episode where we ask: what happens when economic theory meets human catastrophe? #IrishFamine #SoupKitchenAct1847 #CharlesTrevelyan #LaissezFaire #EconomicHistory #FamineRelief #CostBenefitAnalysis #BritishTreasury #CornLaws #Malthus #PublicPolicy #Economics #History #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Podcast #EconomicHistoryPodcast #LessonsFromHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  7. 4d ago

    The 1948 Berlin Airlift That Proved Economics Can Beat a Blockade

    When Soviet forces cut off all land routes to West Berlin in June 1948, the city of two point one million people had roughly thirty-six days of food and ninety days of coal. Most military planners thought an airlift was impossible — the city needed four thousand five hundred tons of supplies daily, and the largest airlift in history, the Hump over the Himalayas, had moved barely two thousand tons a day. This episode breaks down the logistics and economics behind Operation Vittles: how the US Air Force and British Royal Air Force transformed a desperate gamble into a year-long supply chain that delivered two point three million tons of cargo, bankrupted the Soviet blockade strategy, and created a template for humanitarian airlift operations still studied today. Lucas and Luna walk through the specific math — the tonnage targets, the aircraft utilization rates, the fuel arithmetic — and explain why this wasn't just a military victory but an economic one that reshaped Cold War policy. #BerlinAirlift #OperationVittles #ColdWar #EconomicHistory #Logistics #Blockade #GailHalvorsen #CandyBomber #USAF #RAF #WestBerlin #Stalin #MarshallPlan #AirPower #HumanitarianAid #SupplyChain #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  8. 4d ago

    The 1914 Christmas Truce That Paused World War I Economics

    On Christmas Eve 1914, along a muddy stretch of no-man's-land in Belgium, something remarkable happened: German and British soldiers laid down their rifles, exchanged gifts, and played football. But this spontaneous ceasefire wasn't just a human moment — it was also an economic one. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Christmas Truce briefly disrupted the war economy, creating a short-lived bubble in consumer goods and a tiny spike in cross-trench trade. They unpack the economics of front-line informal markets, the rationing systems that made chocolate and cigarettes into currencies, and the lessons for modern conflict zones where peace dividends flicker and fade. Drawing on contemporary letters, regimental ledgers, and a 1915 Bank of England memo, they show how even a one-day truce reshaped supply chains and soldier morale — and why that fragile moment never expanded. A story of humanity, scarcity, and the economic logic of war. #WorldWarI #ChristmasTruce #WarEconomy #EconomicHistory #BlackMarket #Rationing #SupplyChains #TrenchTrade #BattleOfYpres #GermanArmy #BritishArmy #ConsumerGoods #CigarettesAsCurrency #InformalMarkets #PeaceEconomics #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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About

Lucas and Luna examine the economic booms and busts that shaped modern history, from the 1873 Long Depression to the 2008 financial crisis. Each episode is a focused conversation around a single historical period, drawing on original data, central bank archives, and contemporary newspaper accounts. Lucas offers the narrative arc—what caused the expansion, when the turning point came, why policy responses succeeded or failed—while Luna challenges assumptions, compares institutional frameworks across eras, and asks what lessons still apply today. Recent episodes include a granular look at the 1920–21 depression (often overlooked in favor of 1929), the role of railroad speculation in the Panic of 1893, and how post-WWII Bretton Woods policies differ from today's monetary regime. The listener is someone who reads economic history for its own sake—not for simple predictions, but to understand the recurring patterns of credit cycles, regulatory change, and political reactions to hardship. Lucas and Luna never simplify: they discuss real GDP figures, interest rate decisions, and the specific legislative acts that altered market dynamics. This is not a 'lessons from history' show that cherry-picks anecdotes; it is a rigorous, data-rich, and candid conversation about why some recoveries lasted and others did not. What does the 1837 panic tell us about modern debt crises that most economists miss? #EconomicHistory #PastRecessions #BoomsAndBusts #GreatDepression #PanicOf1893 #LongDepression #BrettonWoods #CreditCycles #MonetaryPolicy #CentralBanking #1921Depression #1837Panic #BusinessCycles #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Economics #HistoricalAnalysis #PolicyLessons Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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