#233 The Roaring '20s: King of the Jazz Age

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2017

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Bowery Boys are heading to the speakeasy and kicking back with some bathtub gin this month -- with a brand new series focusing on New York City during the Prohibition Era. The 1920s were a transformational decade for New York, evolving from a Gilded Age capital to the ideal of the modern international city. Art Deco skyscrapers reinvented the skyline, reorienting the center of gravity from downtown to a newly invigorated Midtown Manhattan. Cultural influences, projected to the world via radio and the silent screen, helped create a new American style. And the king of it all was Jimmy Walker, elected mayor of New York City just as its prospects were at their highest. The Tin Pan Alley songwriter-turned-Tammany Hall politician was always known more for his grace and style than his accomplishments. His wit and character embodied the spirit (and the spirits) of the Roaring '20s. Join us for an after-midnight romp with the Night Mayor of New York as ascends to the most powerful seat in the city and spends his first term in the lap of luxury. What could possibly go wrong? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Boutry Boys is brought to you by Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press,
0:05.1	publishers of Alexander Hamilton, an impeccably researched graphic biography of the man who inspired
0:12.6	the hit Broadway musical, and Deal or Dual, a revolutionary card game that pits your survival instincts
0:20.3	and spending savvy against the founding fathers and mothers. Perfect for history lovers,
0:26.8	Deal or Dual, and Alexander Hamilton are available wherever books are sold.
0:32.5	Today's show is also supported by Open Campus, the new school's progressive approach to continuing
0:38.4	education. Explore online and on-campus programs designed to satisfy every type of learner,
0:44.7	with courses in art and design with Parsons, management, media, writing, and more.
0:51.0	Open Campus is more than a course, it's a new kind of network. Fall courses begin on August 28th,
0:58.1	and roll today at opencampus.newschool.edu. The Boutry Boys Episode 23, the roaring 20s,
1:08.1	Chapter 1, Mayor Jimmy Walker. Hey, it's The Boutry Boys.
1:12.7	Hey, Support for The Boutry Boys is provided by our listeners. Join us for as little as a dollar
1:19.6	month by visiting patreon.com slash Boutry Boys. Hi there, welcome to The Boutry Boys. This is Greg
1:28.4	Young, and this is Tom Myers. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our 2017 Summer Series.
1:36.6	This year we are tackling a unique decade in New York City history, the roaring 20s, the jazz age.
1:45.5	We were in the mood for a little summer mini series, and I guess granted we are getting a kind of
1:51.4	late start to it because it's August. But what better way to, you know, sweat out the end of the
1:57.8	summer than with the roaring 20s? Because this is a story that has something for everyone. We've got
2:03.6	political scandals, we've got chorus girls, crooked officials, tammany hall, Broadway musicals, Greg.
2:10.2	Now all your favorite aspects of the jazz age will be threaded through this series, all the music
2:16.2	and the lights of Broadway and all that bathtub gin. Right, bathtub gin because of course this
2:21.9	will all take place during prohibition. But in this three part series, we're tackling the subject
	...

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