No Time For Fear

TVA planners sought to unify the engineering innovations of dam construction with progressive ideas of public access and romantic notions of outdoor scenery. On this episode, we talk with Avigail Sachs, author of the book The Garden in the Machine: Planning and Democracy in the Tennessee Valley Authority. In this episode we talk about how the New Deal influenced the architecture and planning profe...

Young idealistic progressives were the backbone of TVA's entry-level white collar workforce. In this episode, we talk with historian and archivist Aaron Purcell, author of author of the book White Collar Radicals: TVA's Knoxville Fifteen, the New Deal, and the McCarthy Era. We discuss the larger political context of 1930s progressive and leftwing politics, the idealism of young Tennessee Valley Au...

The New Deal included more than just public works projects, it also included quilts. In this episode, we talk with historian and podcaster Janneken Smucker about how rural electrification influenced quilting, TVA quilts, and the New Deal's spirit of experimentation. Learn more about Janneken at Janneken.org , where you can access a website devoted to her recent book, A New Deal for Quilts . Jannek...

The Tennessee Valley is more than just a watershed; it was the basis for the creation of extensive infrastructure. In this episode, we speak with Micah Rutenberg, who helps us gain a new appreciation of how the TVA influenced the creation of an energy commons through maps, design, appliances, and community relationships. Micah's forthcoming book, The Mechanized Landscape: Statecraft and Environmen...

To build the TVA infrastructure that would bring electricity to millions of homes in the Tennessee Valley, many other families lost their homes in the process. In this episode we look at how thousands of families were displaced due to the construction of TVA's dams and reservoirs. NO TIME FOR FEAR is created and hosted by Eira Tansey of Memory Rising, an archival consulting company. For more infor...

David Lilienthal, one of the first directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, was instrumental in its electrification projects. His unwavering principles and pragmatic approach helped the TVA navigate through controversy and accomplish a stunning amount of work. In this episode, we explore Lilienthal's dedication to public service and what his vision can teach us today. NO TIME FOR FEAR is creat...

This episode of NO TIME FOR FEAR kicks off our first season exploring POWER, the New Deal's electrification projects. In this episode, we look at the rural and urban electrification gap in 1930s America, the challenges of rural electrification, and the impact of major projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Rural Electrification Act, and the Bonneville Project Act. NO TIME FOR FEAR is cr...

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for President in 1932, he declared "I pledge myself to a New Deal for the American people." Within the first 100 days of taking office, FDR and Congress passed a flurry of legislation and programs intended to stabilize the economy, provide jobs to the unemployed, and address environmental devastation. In this introductory episode to NO TIME FOR FEAR, a podcast ab...