77. McCarthyism: The Crucible, High Noon, and Hollywood’s Revenge (Ep 4)

Journey Through Time

Goalhanger

History

4.3 • 595 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How did the most celebrated writers and directors in America take aim at McCarthyism in works such as High Noon and The Crucible? Why did Roy Cohn, the man who went on to be Donald Trump’s mentor, get involved in the trials? Despite both men using homophobic language, why are there rumours about McCarthy and Cohn’s sexuality? What is the relevance of this for the trials? Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com X: @ThroughTimePod Blue Sky: @ThroughTimePod Instagram: @JourneyThroughTimePod Social Producer: Emma Jackson Assistant Producers: Alfie Rowe, Alfie Norris Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, this is Michael and Hannah from Gollhangers. The Rest is Science.
0:03.1	This episode is brought to you by Project Hail Mary, the new spectacular space adventure coming to cinemas.
0:09.6	Okay, hypothetically, imagine that there's this mission to save our world. Only you can do the job.
0:15.5	As this expert in mathematics and science, how do you think you would do?
0:20.4	Terribly. But not because I love teaching and learning, because I'm a scaredy cat.
0:26.5	But what about yourself, Hannah?
0:28.2	I'd back myself, Michael. I think I'd be good. I'd just be very slow.
0:31.6	I think the point is that no one should rely on Hannah or I to save the world.
0:35.4	But in Project Hail Mary, Ryan Gosling stars as science
0:39.2	teacher Ryland Grace, who is sent unexpectedly on an impossible mission to space to discover why the
0:44.9	sun and stars are dying. He teams up with an unimaginable ally to defy all odds and save the universe
0:52.1	from extinction. See Project Hail Mary in cinemas and IMAX from Thursday the 19th of March.
0:58.3	You can also catch it early on Saturday the 14th of March,
1:02.5	Pye Day, and Sunday the 15th of March.
1:14.0	Welcome to Journey Through Time. I'm David Aldoushoga.
1:15.1	And I'm Sarah Churchwell.
1:16.2	And this is part four of our series on the Red Scare of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and the
1:21.8	infamous hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities and the extraordinary power acquired by one senator,
1:29.3	Joseph McCarthy.
1:30.3	That's right.
1:31.3	So we are picking up our story now in 1951.
1:36.3	Hugh, the House on American Activities Committee, is basically launching a kind of second wave.
	...

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