In Episode 2 of Season 6, Alex analyzes the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism's effect on the country and Ohio during the 2nd Red Scare of the 1950s. We study how America's love affair with bullies and how a paranoid nation briefly lost its way during the early years of the Cold War.
We're joined by best selling author Larry Tye to discuss his book Demagogue, the definitive account of Senator Joe McCarthy from 2020. Buy Larry's book here https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/demagogue/9781328959720
Larry talks about McCarthy's meteoric rise in American politics and his equally rapid descent from the top of the political world. McCarthy's crusade against Communism at home shakes the very foundation of the country and divides the nation in half. Lives are ruined by McCarthy's baseless attacks on the Constitutional rights of Americans and we analyze how he was enabled by his political party, the media and even the President of the United States.
The Second Red Scare cast its long shadow on Ohio and Ohioans as well. We sit down with University of Akron professor, Greg Wilson, about McCarthyism's effect on the Buckeye State. From the halls of the Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio UnAmerican Activities Committee wields its inquisition into suspected communists and subversives throughout the state. Greg walks us through 1950s Ohio and the Cold War stories of Ohioans persecuted by its own government. Don't forget to buy Greg's book Ohio: the History of the Buckeye State, the most comprehensive book on Ohio history on the market today. Buy his book co-authored by Kevin Kern here: https://www.amazon.com/Ohio-History-Kevin-F-Kern/dp/1118548434
Ohio v. the World: An American History podcast is now part of the Evergreen Podcast Network. Go to https://evergreenpodcasts.com to check out all our past episodes and dozens of other great podcasts. Don't forget to rate and review our show and we'll read your reviews on the air in a future episode.
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