The Debt Dialogues [Episode 22]: Amity Shlaes on the Great Depression

The Debt Dialogues is a weekly podcast that aims to educate young people about the welfare state and how it will affect their future. In this episode, I interview Amity Shlaes, author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, about the cause of the Depression and how it made possible the creation of the American welfare state.

Topics include:

  • Different theories about the cause(s) of the Great Depression
  • How the Depression changed the way Americans thought about the role of government
  • The myth that Herbert Hoover was an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism
  • The creation of Social Security


Other Resources:

Image: Bruce Rolff via Shutterstock.com