That American Century

SNB Media
  • 5.0 (8)
  • History

A history podcast about the people and events shaping the United States in the 20th Century. Communists, Capitalists, Populists, Feminists, Imperialists, Isolationists, Anarchists, Atheists and Fundamentalists welcome 🇺🇸 

  1. Sep 28

    Serpico, Roosevelt, and the New York Police | Ep 14

    On April 25, 1970 The New York Times runs a story with the headline "Graft Paid to Police Here Said to Run Into Millions." One of the sources for the story was Detective Frank Serpico. For years, he had been trying to get the NYPD to take his claims of police corruption seriously.  The bad press leads to the formation of the Knapp Commission, certainly not the first commission tasked with looking into New York Police corruption.  In 1894, the Lexow Committee had exposed the rampant graft running the New York Police, and in 1895 new Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, is determined to turn the department around. Can he do it?  All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: The Autobiography of Theodore RooseveltT.R.: The Last Romantic by H.W. BrandsIsland of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean up Sin-Loving New York by Richard ZacksSatan's Circus by Mike DashThe New York Times, April 25, 1970Politico Magazine The Police Are Still Out of Control by Frank Serpico, October 23, 2014Cherries in America & The Rise and Fall of Cherry Street, Manhattan, newyorkalmanack.com

    Serpico, Roosevelt, and the New York Police | Ep 14

  2. Sep 2

    Arnold Rothstein | Ep 13

    What does the Black Sox Scandal and the Becker-Rosenthal case have in common? Arnold Rothstein.  His career in New York City's world of vice spans the 1890s to the 1920s, adjusting during periods of reform and always staying steps removed from scandal.  If we're talking about graft and organized crime in the 20th century, we should definitely mention Arnold Rothstein.  All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: Rothstein by David PietruszaSatan's Circus by Mike DashThe Society for American Baseball ResearchInfamousNewYork.comThe Chicago Tribune, September 29, 1920The Philadelphia Enquirer, September 29, 1920

    Arnold Rothstein | Ep 13

  3. Aug 20

    The Becker-Rosenthal Case | Ep 12

    It was called "The Trial of the Century."  In July 1912, a New York City Bookmaker is assassinated in front of the Hotel Metropole. Four gunmen and one NYPD Lieutenant are implicated in the crime.  Lieutenant Charles Becker was no stranger to the graft that had ruled New York City for decades, but his teaming up with Herman Rosenthal would prove to be his undoing. He would face a trial, a retrial, and, ultimately, an execution.  The 20th century had plenty of police scandals, and the Becker-Rosenthal case is a good one.   All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: Satan's Circus by Mike DashThe New York World July 15, 1912The New York Times July 30, 1915New York Tribune July 31, 1915

    The Becker-Rosenthal Case | Ep 12

  4. Jul 25

    Sinclair v. Rockefeller | Ep 11

    From The Jungle to HUAC to California in 2003 - entertainment and politics collide time after time in the 20th century.  Upton Sinclair, Ronald Reagan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. All three were celebrities first then California gubernatorial candidates second. Sinclair and Reagan also have something else in common - they were both players during crucial moments in American labor history. Reagan v. PATCO and Sinclair v. Rockefeller after the Ludlow Massacre. All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: The Autobiography of Upton SinclairSchwarzenegger CA acceptance speech 2003Schwarzenegger sworn in as CA GovernorReagan's October 1980 letter to PATCOReagan fires air traffic controllers 1981Politico Reagan Fires Air Traffic ControllersReaganlibrary.govThe New York Times "IWW Pickets Pen Rockefellers" May 4, 1914The New York Times "Attack In Church on Rockefeller" May 2, 1914Vanity Fair "Reagan Unscripted" June 2007Graham Bensinger Governing California: Arnold Schwarzenegger on challenges and triumphs

    Sinclair v. Rockefeller | Ep 11

  5. Jul 12

    May Day 1914 | Ep 10

    Veracruz, the Ludlow Massacre, Bill Haywood, the IWW, and Rockefeller. All are "In the News" at the beginning of May - 1914. After the Ludlow Massacre in April 1914, Picketers head down to Standard Oil headquarters at 26 Broadway to protest the Rockefellers. One of these protestors is famous novelist, Upton Sinclair. Also protesting are Anarchists who, on May 1, 1914, get caught up in the stampede and chaos at the May Day rally in Union Square.  All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: The Jungle by Upton SinclairThe Autobiography of Upton SinclairThe Poison Squad by Deborah BlumThe Poison Squad | American Experience | PBSTitan by Ron ChernowMacon Telegraph - “Enemies of the Country” May 2, 1914The New York Times "Rockefeller Balks"  April 30, 1914The New York Times "5k Stampeded by Police Clubs"  May 2, 1914A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinnhistorycolorado.org

    May Day 1914 | Ep 10

  6. Jun 29

    Remember Ludlow! | Ep 9

    Two weeks before the Ludlow Massacre, John D. Rockefeller Jr. testifies before Congress about the ongoing Coal Miner's strike in Southern Colorado.  The Rockefellers have a controlling interest in the company that owns the mines, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. Rockefeller Jr. claims the striking mineworkers are being forced to strike. They are being pressured by the United Mineworkers of America and have received threatening letters from "The Black Hand." Rockefeller Jr. and the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. refuse to hear the mineworkers demands for reform. They're not interested in treating these men with any dignity. It's the same stance his son, Governor of New York Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, will take when it came to rioting prisoners at Attica in 1971. He refuses to hear demands for reform. He is not interested in treating these men with any dignity. All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: Titan by Ron Chernowdemocracynow.orgThe United Labor Bulletin (April 11, 1914)A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinnhistorycolorado.org

    Remember Ludlow! | Ep 9

  7. Jun 10

    The Ludlow Massacre | Ep 8

    Labor v. Capital is a recurring theme in That American Century. The conflict between striking mineworkers and the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company comes to a deadly climax on April 20, 1914. Two women and 11 children will suffocate to death in a cellar dug underneath a tent in the colony where striking mineworkers and their families had been living for over six months. When details of the Ludlow Massacre come to light, the nation reacts with horror and outrage. Historian Howard Zinn described the Ludlow Massacre as "the culminating act of perhaps the most violent struggle between corporate power and laboring men in American history." All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinnhistorycolorado.orgEyewitness to Murder: Recounting the Ludlow MassacreHistory - UMWApbs.orgrevolutionnewsstand.comLouis TikasC-Span: Ludlow Coal Miners' Strike and MassacreOld Man Trump - woodyguthrie.org

    The Ludlow Massacre | Ep 8

  8. May 18

    The Mountain Meadows Massacre | Ep 7

    “This is the right place” declared Brigham Young as he entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.  Persecuted and harassed in every place they had tried to make a home, the Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, establish Zion in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Ten years later, however, in 1857, rumors abound that President James Buchanan is sending someone new to replace Brigham Young as Governor of the Utah Territory. The Mormons refuse to be persecuted any longer. If the United States wants war with the Mormons - war is what they will get.  All this and more - in this episode of That American Century. Music from Epidemic Sound. Sources for this episode include: The Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita BrooksUnder the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon KrakauerThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints NewsroomThe American Presidency Project: Republican Party Platform of 1856American Midnight by Adam HochschildThe Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood by William HaywoodRoughneck : the life and times of Big Bill Haywood by Peter CarlsonBig Bill Haywood threatens to close the minesThe Daily Journal (Telluride), April 21, 1914

    The Mountain Meadows Massacre | Ep 7
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

A history podcast about the people and events shaping the United States in the 20th Century. Communists, Capitalists, Populists, Feminists, Imperialists, Isolationists, Anarchists, Atheists and Fundamentalists welcome 🇺🇸 

Information

  • Creator
    SNB Media
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 That American Century
  • Show Website
    That American Century

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