The Economic History Podcast with Fexingo: Past Recessions, Booms, and Lessons from History

Lucas and Luna examine the economic booms and busts that shaped modern history, from the 1873 Long Depression to the 2008 financial crisis. Each episode is a focused conversation around a single historical period, drawing on original data, central bank archives, and contemporary newspaper accounts. Lucas offers the narrative arc—what caused the expansion, when the turning point came, why policy responses succeeded or failed—while Luna challenges assumptions, compares institutional frameworks across eras, and asks what lessons still apply today. Recent episodes include a granular look at the 1920–21 depression (often overlooked in favor of 1929), the role of railroad speculation in the Panic of 1893, and how post-WWII Bretton Woods policies differ from today's monetary regime. The listener is someone who reads economic history for its own sake—not for simple predictions, but to understand the recurring patterns of credit cycles, regulatory change, and political reactions to hardship. Lu