Radioactive

Tablet Studios
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Radioactive

Before CNN and Fox News, before shock jocks and powerful pundits, there was Father Charles Coughlin, an ambitious priest who invented political talk radio as we know it, brought down one president and crowned another, and was at one point considered the most powerful man in America. He was also a rabid antisemite who wrote fan mail to Mussolini and cheered on Hitler, and who used his enormous platform to spread hate.  In this 8-part podcast, Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin weaves together archival materials and incisive interviews to tell the story of Father Coughlin's alarming rise and dramatic fall. It’s a cautionary tale of how an unscrupulous bigot can manipulate mass media to spread hate and gather far too much political power. Radioactive is produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism.

  1. In the Beginning...

    EPISODE 1

    In the Beginning...

    In the first episode of this eight-part series, we take a look at beginnings. We uncover the humble origins of Father Charles Coughlin and his fellow antisemite, Henry Ford. We also investigate how the dawn of radio combined with world-shattering events to fuel Coughlin’s meteoric rise. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    30 min
  2. Radio Days

    EPISODE 2

    Radio Days

    Father Coughlin builds his church, with a little help from famous friends. The ambitious priest embraces the airwaves and becomes America’s first talk radio celebrity.  Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    24 min
  3. The Sound of America

    EPISODE 3

    The Sound of America

    Father Coughlin’s decision to broadcast his sermons over the radio scandalizes the American listening public, with angry letters pouring in to radio stations and politicians. Preaching on the dial next to Amos ’n’ Andy was sacrilegious, inappropriate, crass. But soon listeners were hooked by the radio priest's sonorous voice, and his deliberately targeted messaging.  Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    18 min
  4. Driving the Money Changers from the Temple

    EPISODE 4

    Driving the Money Changers from the Temple

    Father Coughlin responds to the chaos of the Great Depression by creating a clear villain for his audiences: President Hoover, of course, but also the bankers he claimed controlled politicians and the communists he said were secretly infiltrating the country’s labor leadership. Any shred of subtlety evaporates as he rants on air about the Old Testament and the “atheist Jew Karl Marx.” CBS drops Coughlin from its lineup, but his influence only grows as he enters the political arena. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    23 min
  5. His Cross to Bear

    EPISODE 5

    His Cross to Bear

    President Roosevelt embraces radio while distancing himself from Father Coughlin, whose broadcasts are becoming increasingly antisemitic. Coughlin rants about the Rothschilds and singles out Roosevelt’s Jewish secretary of the treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr., while the Jewish community debates how to respond. Turning on Roosevelt, Coughlin starts his own political movement. Meanwhile, the Nazis gain momentum in Germany. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    27 min
  6. Social Justice

    EPISODE 6

    Social Justice

    Huey Long’s folksy populism wins over Louisiana voters and becomes darkly demagogic. Picking up where Long leaves off, Father Coughlin and his National Union for Social Justice energize the anti-FDR base at massive political rallies across the country. The Social Justice party runs a candidate for president in the 1936 election, and Coughlin blatantly solicits campaign funds on his radio show while Bishop Gallagher and Church higher-ups look the other way. Though his candidate fizzles, Coughlin’s political influence is firmly established—and his openly antisemitic speeches find a growing audience. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    35 min
  7. Sedition

    EPISODE 7

    Sedition

    Faced with political defeat, Father Coughlin drops all pretense of diplomacy. He plagiarizes Joseph Goebbels in his Social Justice magazine and writes fan letters to Mussolini. His Kristallnacht broadcast gets him kicked off major radio stations. He incites his followers in a paramilitary organization known as the Christian Front to undertake violence in the streets. The FBI raids the Christian Front headquarters in Brooklyn, leading to the arrest of 17 men and the trial of the so-called “Brooklyn Boys.” Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    57 min
  8. The Ghost of Royal Oak

    EPISODE 8

    The Ghost of Royal Oak

    In the final chapter of this series, Father Coughlin disappears from the public eye, but his legacy lives on. When Coughlin stages a high-profile protest episode, and the church finally gives him an ultimatum: his radio career or the priesthood. The FBI closes in on Coughlin, but an unlikely figure steps in to save him from prosecution. Coughlin finally abdicates his on-air pulpit. But now, decades later, his legacy remains imprinted on the media landscape. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.

    37 min
See All Season 1 (8)

About

Before CNN and Fox News, before shock jocks and powerful pundits, there was Father Charles Coughlin, an ambitious priest who invented political talk radio as we know it, brought down one president and crowned another, and was at one point considered the most powerful man in America. He was also a rabid antisemite who wrote fan mail to Mussolini and cheered on Hitler, and who used his enormous platform to spread hate.  In this 8-part podcast, Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin weaves together archival materials and incisive interviews to tell the story of Father Coughlin's alarming rise and dramatic fall. It’s a cautionary tale of how an unscrupulous bigot can manipulate mass media to spread hate and gather far too much political power. Radioactive is produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism.

Information

  • Channel
    Tablet Studios
  • Creator
    Tablet Magazine
  • Episodes
    11
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 Tablet Magazine
  • Show Website
    Radioactive

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