Joe Hill's Last Will (1915)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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It’s November 19th. This day in 1915, IWW activist and songwriter Joe Hill is executed by the state of Utah.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Hill’s songs were so powerful, how they posed a threat to big business at the time — and Jody finally gets to talk about his undergraduate thesis!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. |
| 0:07.0 | My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:09.0 | This day, November 19, 1915, the state of Utah executes labor organizer, songwriter, |
| 0:20.5 | and member of the Industrial Workers of the World, aka the IW Wablies, Joe Hill. |
| 0:27.3 | Joe Hill was a Swedish immigrant, had been accused of killing a shopkeeper and a botched robbery |
| 0:32.0 | in Salt Lake City. The trial became a media |
| 0:34.8 | sensation. Questions about Hill's guilt or innocence flared at a really |
| 0:39.4 | incredibly tense moment for labor unrest in this country. The night before his punishment, |
| 0:44.3 | Hill wrote a letter with a phrase that would become a rallying cry for generations, |
| 0:48.0 | don't waste time mourning, organize. But ultimately, November 19 19th Hill is marched out to a wall by the |
| 0:55.8 | sugar house prison in Salt Lake a paper heart placed over his chest and a firing |
| 1:00.4 | squad took aim and executed him. So let's talk about the execution of Joe |
| 1:05.4 | Hill, his legacy as an activist and a songwriter here as always Nicole |
| 1:09.6 | Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. |
| 1:12.8 | Hello there. |
| 1:13.5 | Hello Jody. |
| 1:14.5 | Hey there. |
| 1:15.4 | So we've arrived at a Joe Hill episode. |
| 1:18.4 | It is about time. |
| 1:19.8 | Have I told you this? |
| 1:21.6 | Though I wrote my, I wrote my undergraduate thesis about Joe Hill I've been sitting |
| 1:27.6 | there waiting patiently and we get emails I'd say we've gotten a couple emails a year since we |
... |
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