- Home
- /
- Commentary: Historians & Others
Commentary: Historians & Others
On this page, you will find recordings and videos of lectures or interviews, given by New Deal historians, some of whom are affiliated with the Living New Deal.
Preserving a CCC Enrollee’s Murals in Vale, Oregon
When the Civilian Conservation Corps’ funding ended with the outbreak of WWII, camps across the country became surplus – either absorbed by federal
agencies or local communities or simply demolished. This video shares the story of CCC Camp Vale’s fate and the fortunate discovery of one enrollee’s legacy.
Several years ago, renovation work uncovered a legacy of the New Deal in the
walls of Willowcreek Community Church. While removing sheetrock to insulate their
space, workers found the mural work of Frederick Kluemper, a Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollee from Covington Ky. Interest in the artist and
his work as well as the work of the CCC in their community lead church members
to research details of his life and give serious thought to preservation of
this legacy.
To see and learn more about the murals, visit our CCC
Camp Vale Murals page.
“How the Democrats Forgot the New Deal and Paved the Way for Trumpism“
In Robert Kuttner’s new book, “Going Big: FDR’s Legacy, Biden’s New Deal, and the Struggle to Save Democracy,” he explains how we got to our present political inflection point, how high the stakes are, and what comes next. Kuttner — who co-founded the Economic Policy Institute as well as The American Prospect — joins Jon Schwarz to discuss.
New Deal-related film, “Defending Utopia: The Greenbelt News Review at 80”
“In 1937, Roosevelt’s New Deal planners launched an extraordinary housing experiment in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.
Greenbelt, Maryland was the most controversial of three suburban “green towns” designed to ease Depression-era housing shortages – though critics called the towns a socialistic waste of taxpayer dollars whose non-profit cooperatives threatened American capitalism.
But since 1937, a volunteer-run weekly newspaper has defended a city Eleanor Roosevelt called “the first garden community in the land, planned for the uplift and unfolding of the human spirit.” And in a 1970 libel case, the Greenbelt News Review fought to protect the press freedoms so critical to American democracy.
“Defending Utopia: The Greenbelt News Review at 80″ is about a courageous home town newspaper and the battles it fought on behalf of its idealistic residents.”
Interview with Linn Forrest, the architect who led the CCC totem restoration project in Southeast Alaska
Town Hall
Senator Sanders joins experts and environmental activists to discuss solutions for how we can combat climate change and protect the planet.
Visit our Films and Videos resource section where you can watch films created by the New Deal, links to films about the New Deal, our monthly Fireside Films selection, and Bibliographies and Resources.
