Radioactive

By: Tablet Magazine
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  • Summary

  • Before CNN and Fox News, before shock jocks and powerful pundits, there was Father Charles Coughlin, an ambitious priest who invented political talk radio as we know it, brought down one president and crowned another, and was at one point considered the most powerful man in America. He was also a rabid antisemite who wrote fan mail to Mussolini and cheered on Hitler, and who used his enormous platform to spread hate. In this 8-part podcast, Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin weaves together archival materials and incisive interviews to tell the story of Father Coughlin's alarming rise and dramatic fall. It’s a cautionary tale of how an unscrupulous bigot can manipulate mass media to spread hate and gather far too much political power. Radioactive is produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism.
    2023 Tablet Magazine
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Social Sciences Spirituality World
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Episodes
  • Episode 1: In the Beginning...

    Episode 1: In the Beginning...
    Oct 5 2021
    In the first episode of this eight-part series, we take a look at beginnings. We uncover the humble origins of Father Charles Coughlin and his fellow antisemite, Henry Ford. We also investigate how the dawn of radio combined with world-shattering events to fuel Coughlin’s meteoric rise. Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.
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    30 mins
  • Episode 2: Radio Days

    Episode 2: Radio Days
    Oct 12 2021
    Father Coughlin builds his church, with a little help from famous friends. The ambitious priest embraces the airwaves and becomes America’s first talk radio celebrity.  Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.
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    24 mins
  • Episode 3: The Sound of America

    Episode 3: The Sound of America
    Oct 19 2021
    Father Coughlin’s decision to broadcast his sermons over the radio scandalizes the American listening public, with angry letters pouring in to radio stations and politicians. Preaching on the dial next to Amos ’n’ Andy was sacrilegious, inappropriate, crass. But soon listeners were hooked by the radio priest's sonorous voice, and his deliberately targeted messaging.  Radioactive is hosted by Detroit journalist Andrew Lapin and produced by Tablet Studios, with support from Maimonides Fund, and in association with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative, Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. The show’s theme music is from The Ghost Writer and was composed by Alexandre Desplat. All speeches and material of Father Coughlin, as well as music and other audio from his radio program, are authentic to the source. For more information on all of Tablet’s podcasts, visit tabletmag.com/podcasts.
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    18 mins

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