The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1941 which was much of radio's golden age. After the Wall Street Crash of October 1929. The United States was hit by a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, and deflation. By 1933, America's poverty rate rose to over 60%. In Cleveland, Ohio the unemployment rate reached 50%, in Toledo, Ohio it topped out at 80%. To counter the doom and gloom, the radio industry filled the airwaves with happy, optimistic programs, but there were a few shows that attempted to reflect reality. You will hear 4 of them. "A matter of Life and Death" from the Columbia Workshop in 1937, "Kiss and Jail" from Redbook Dramas in 1932, "Behold the Man" from the Columbia Workshop in 1938, and "A Man's Castle" from Lux Radio Theater in 1939.

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Without question, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most visible, and celebrated leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. The legendary African American Baptist minister was the son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr. Both men advanced the cause of civil rights for people of color in the United States, through nonviolence and civil disobedience. Inspired by Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of India's Mahatma Gandhi. In 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality. We are going to hear Dr Martin Luther King Jr. on a 1960 edition of Meet the Press from NBC Radio. And we will hear Pacifica Radio coverage of Dr King speaking to anti-war activists incarcerated at Santa Rita Prison in California, on January 14th, 1968, less than 3 months before his untimely death in Memphis Tennessee.

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The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news organization based in the United States, founded in 1846. It is known for its commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting, serving as a reliable source of news for newspapers, television, radio, and online platforms worldwide. The AP operates with a cooperative model, meaning that it is owned and funded by its member newspapers and broadcasters, allowing it to gather and distribute news from around the globe efficiently. The AP's extensive network of journalists and correspondents ensures coverage of a wide array of topics. We'll hear the story of the Associated Press from the 1941 NBC series Behind the Mike. We will celebrate a century of AP coverage and episode of Break the News, from the NBC Show Cavalcade of America in 1948.

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In the United States, the 1930s and 1940s were marked by growing suspicion of communism and socialism, but under the fairness doctrine that opened the airwaves to differing points of view, American communist leaders were able to make their case against income inequality and express their support for civil rights and equal justice. Decades later Congress killed the fairness doctrine allowing the airwaves to be dominated by extreme right wing and conservative commentators. We're going to hear two speeches. An address by Ben Davis Jr of the New York Communist Party on NBC in 1937, followed by Earl Browder, Communist Party candidate for president on CBS in 1940. We'll close with the story of Russian socialist and writer, Alexander Herzen and his fight against tyranny from the 1945 NBC show, We Came This Way.

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We're going to learn about two soldiers in the battle for civil rights and justice.

First...Ida B. Wells was an African American journalist, educator, and civil rights activist. Born into slavery in Mississippi, she became a fearless investigative journalist and co-owner of a newspaper, where she exposed the horrors of lynching in the late 19th century, making her a key figure in the civil rights, freedom of the press, and women's suffrage movements. Wells was also a founder of the NAACP.

William H. Hastie was a trailblazing African American attorney. Born in Tennessee, Hastie graduated from the Harvard Law School and became the first African American federal judge in 1937. He also served as the first Black governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Throughout his career, Hastie fought tirelessly against racial discrimination in the legal system, leaving a profound impact on both judiciary and civil rights law. Ida B. Wells and William H. Hastie, were both profiled on Destination Freedom in 1949.

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Reality shows have long been a staple on television, but they first began on radio. One of the earliest radio reality shows was Alan Funt's Candid Microphone which secretly recorded ordinary people in real life situations. Funt would later take the show to television where it became they highly popular Candid Camera. Another radio reality show was Wanted, which helped track down crime suspects, and featured interviews with actual crime victims and law enforcement officials. Long before the TV show America's Most Wanted. There was also Nightwatch, a radio show which rode along with patrol officers as they battled crime, decades before the popular TV show Cops. You will hear Candid Microphone from 1947, Wanted from 1950, and two Nightwatch programs from 1954.

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He was Martin Luther King, Muhammed Ali, Harry Bellafonte, and Malcolm X rolled into one. Paul Robeson was an extraordinary American singer, actor, and civil rights activist. The son of a slave, Robeson was Born in Princeton, New Jersey, and excelled academically. He became a star athlete earning a scholarship to Rutgers University, and a law degree from Columbia University. Robeson became a global sensation, using his recordings, films, and live performances, to fight racism in America and around the world. However, the more popular Robeson became, the more the U.S. government tried to silence him, with harassment, surveillance, congressional investigations, and finally confiscating his passport so he couldn't travel. But in 1957, Robeson used new technology to appear at a rally and concert supporting union coal miners in the U.K., without leaving New York City. We'll learn how Paul Robeson did it, from the BBC World Service program "Witness History", followed by this amazing rally in its entirety.

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The stories of two very deserving, but seldom celebrated heroes.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the influential African American historian, author, and journalist, who is the "Father of Black History." His parents had been slaves, but Woodson became one of the first Blacks to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Woodson was a follower of Marcus Garvey, and established Negro History Week in 1926, which later evolved into Black History Month. His work emphasized the importance of African American contributions to history and culture, and he founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Then, we have the story of Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. the prominent African American mathematician, nuclear engineer, and civil rights advocate. He earned his first degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago at just 19 years old, and was nicknamed The Negro Genius. Wilkins worked on the Manhattan Project, which produced the atomic bomb. He taught at Tuskegee Institute, and later became President of the American Nuclear Society. Wilkins career spanned 7 decades, and tirelessly worked to get young African Americans into the STEM trades.

The biographies of Woodson and Wilkins are told on the classic radio series, Destination Freedom.

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