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:

• The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression — Amity Shlaes
• The Debt Dialogues [Episode 21]: Lee Ohanion on the State of the Economy
• The Debt Dialogues [Episode 5]: Don Watkins on the History of the Welfare State
• RooseveltCare: How Social Security Is Sabotaging the Land of Self-Reliance — Don Watkins

Image: Bruce Rolff via Shutterstock.com