You’ve probably heard our recession compared to the financial crisis of the 1930s. But in today’s out take, we’re talking to Scott Nelson, a professor of History at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, who is researching the history of financial panics. He says that our current crisis has more in common with the so-called “Long Depression” that began in 1873, than the “Great Depression” of the 1930s. Since we've never heard of the “Long Depression” we asked Mr. Nelson to explain.
Professor Nelson is the author of the book Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend.
We tried to find something about the Long Depression, but couldn't, so here is Tom Waits singing over Dorothea Lange's and Walker Evans' iconic photos of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. It's no Spaghetti Cat, but it will do.