0:00

It's late

0:02

summer, 1930,

0:09

in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

0:11

George

0:15

Ehrlich is driving his truck down the long, dusty

0:18

road that leads from his farm into town. Usually,

0:21

the journey takes about 10 minutes, but today

0:23

Ehrlich is driving slowly so he

0:25

can admire the landscape as it rolls past

0:27

his window. Thirty years ago,

0:30

when immigrants like Ehrlich's family first arrived

0:32

in Oklahoma, there was nothing here but an

0:34

endless expanse of tall grass. These

0:37

days, practically every inch of this land is

0:39

now covered in wheat fields, including

0:42

160 acres that Ehrlich now owns himself. Running

0:45

a farm has been a huge source of pride

0:47

for Ehrlich.

0:48

Back in Russia, his family owned almost

0:50

nothing.

0:51

But here in America, Ehrlich has been able to provide

0:53

for nine children, making sure their

0:55

stomachs are full and the house is warm.

0:58

And today, Ehrlich is planning to cash in on another

1:01

season's worth of hard work. He's

1:03

driving his wheat harvest to the grain elevator,

1:05

where he's hoping to receive a decent payout

1:07

and take home enough money to keep his family

1:09

comfortable through the winter. But

1:11

Ehrlich is also feeling a bit nervous. It's

1:14

been several months since the stock market

1:16

crashed, sending the entire country

1:18

into a depression. All over America,

1:21

people are struggling.

1:22

So far, Ehrlich and his neighbors have

1:24

been spared the worst of it, because while the price

1:27

of wheat has been declining, the farmers

1:29

have been able to make up for it by growing crops

1:31

in record amounts. So Ehrlich

1:33

is hopeful he'll be able to keep weathering the economic

1:36

storm in America. And while the operators

1:38

at the grain elevator might offer him a low price

1:40

for his harvest, it should still be enough

1:42

to keep him and his family afloat.

1:47

Ehrlich turns

1:49

onto the paved road leading into town and

1:51

toward the grain elevators. Concrete

1:54

cylinders rise from the earth, casting

1:56

long shadows across the prairie. But

1:58

a moment later, he spots a man.

1:59

truck driving away from the granary and

2:02

notices that the back of the vehicle is still entirely

2:04

full of wheat. That's not a good

2:07

sign, but Ehrlich isn't going to jump

2:09

to any conclusions.

2:11

So he parks his truck and makes his way to the

2:13

small storefront at the entrance of the granary.

2:16

But as soon as he steps inside, one of

2:19

the operators shoots him a scornful look. Oh,

2:21

you can stop right there. We're not accepting at this

2:23

time. What do you mean you're not accepting? What's

2:26

the problem?

2:27

The problem is we've got more than enough. Elevators

2:30

are already overflowing. Well, okay,

2:32

I'll come back tomorrow. No, not tomorrow

2:34

or the next day. I'm sorry, I'm at a loss

2:36

here. Grain comes in and it goes out. That's the

2:38

business. How can you not be buying? We're

2:41

not buying because there's not a market for it.

2:43

There's always a market for wheat. Not

2:46

right now there's not.

2:47

Ehrlich looks down trying to think through his options.

2:50

He can't afford to walk away empty handed. Hey,

2:52

look, I know times are tough. I read the papers.

2:55

I know what's going on in the country, but I'm begging you,

2:57

even if it's a low price, I'll take it. Sir,

3:00

I don't think you heard me. We are not buying.

3:03

And if you got a problem with that, you can take it out

3:05

with my friend over here.

3:08

The operator gestures to a guard leaning

3:10

against the wall with a rifle. Ehrlich

3:13

isn't going to start a confrontation with an armed man,

3:15

but he can't afford this. So he begins to

3:18

beg, pleading his case, reminding

3:20

the grain operator that he's been selling here for years.

3:23

But the operator says the conversation is over

3:25

and signals for the guard to escort Ehrlich out.

3:28

Ehrlich hangs his head in frustration. It

3:31

doesn't look like he's going to be able to win this man

3:33

over. And he's not going to risk getting himself

3:35

hurt either. Ehrlich is just going to

3:37

have to accept that he's not selling his harvest.

3:40

And he's not here. At the same

3:42

time, he can't let his weak fit around.

3:45

At some point, it'll go bad again to rot.

3:48

Ehrlich is going to have to try again at another

3:50

market. After all, ever since

3:52

the stock market crash, people have been starving

3:54

in America.

3:55

And where there's a demand for a product, there

3:58

has to be a market.

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5:26

From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and

5:29

this is American Scandal.

5:49

In the early 1900s, Americans

5:51

flocked to the southern Great Plains, lured

5:54

by the promise that they could make a fortune in

5:56

farming. The region includes portions

5:58

of Texas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

5:59

New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado,

6:02

and before the farmers arrived, it was home to

6:04

sweeping grasslands across hundreds

6:06

of thousands of square miles. The

6:09

area had long been known for its extreme

6:11

weather, including long stretches of drought,

6:14

and many had deemed it unfit for agriculture. But

6:16

despite those warnings, government officials,

6:19

land speculators, and others encouraged

6:21

the settlers to take up the plow and plant

6:23

crops. And with the outbreak

6:25

of the First World War, the southern

6:27

Great Plains transformed into one of the most

6:29

important centers of agriculture in the world.

6:32

America's farmers tore up the native grassland

6:35

at a frenzied pace in order to grow the

6:37

wheat that would feed America's allies in Europe.

6:39

But life on the plains would take a turn in

6:42

October of 1929. With

6:44

the crash of America's stock market, the

6:46

country faced an unprecedented economic

6:48

downturn. Within a month, the market

6:50

lost about 40 percent of its value. Businesses

6:53

failed, and people lost their jobs. By

6:56

the summer of 1930, many Americans

6:58

were left unable to pay for groceries and

7:00

had begun to starve. But still,

7:02

the nation had a surplus of wheat. The

7:05

drop in consumer demand led to a collapse

7:07

in grain prices, and farmers tried

7:09

to make up for it by growing more and more

7:11

crops. State leaders pleaded

7:14

with the federal government to buy this surplus

7:16

grain and distribute it to the poor. But

7:19

when President Herbert Hoover refused to intervene,

7:21

Americans continued to starve, and

7:24

as farmers were left with only one option, to

7:26

keep planting crops. This

7:28

is episode two, If It Rains. It's

7:34

December 12, 1930, in Washington, D.C. In

7:38

an office inside the White House, an aide to President

7:40

Herbert Hoover is working at his desk when

7:43

he's handed a telegram from the governor of Virginia.

7:46

According to John Garland Pollard, a dire

7:48

situation is unfolding across his state.

7:51

The people in Virginia are unemployed, destitute,

7:53

and going hungry. They need immediate

7:55

assistance before winter arrives. And

7:58

the governor is calling on President Hoover to help. to do

8:00

something to ease their suffering. The

8:02

aid sets down the telegram. It's

8:04

heartbreaking to read that people are going hungry

8:07

in Virginia, but recently the

8:09

White House has been getting hammered with these kinds

8:11

of messages. Elected leaders

8:13

from around the country are imploring Washington

8:15

to address the hunger crisis in America.

8:18

Congress has gone back and forth, debating

8:20

measures to provide food relief, but

8:22

President Hoover has been reluctant to address

8:24

the problem directly. The president

8:27

is worried that these kinds of programs function

8:29

as handouts, and that they'll undermine what

8:31

he believes to be America's greatest virtue, the

8:33

fierce individualism and self-reliance

8:35

of its people. Hoover's political

8:38

philosophy hasn't been widely popular,

8:40

and now there's a growing sentiment that Republicans,

8:43

Hoover's own party, are responsible for

8:45

the country's economic collapse. Just

8:47

last month, the GOP lost dozens

8:49

of seats in the midterm elections. So

8:52

for Hoover, standing on the sidelines while

8:54

regular Americans go hungry, is proving

8:56

to be politically disastrous, that

8:58

this letter from the governor of Virginia could

9:00

offer a smart path forward. In

9:03

the telegram, Virginia's governor notes that farmers

9:05

have produced a surplus of wheat, and

9:08

he's proposing that the federal government help distribute

9:10

this surplus to starving Americans. It's

9:13

a sensible plan, so the aide heads

9:15

to the Oval Office to talk it through with President

9:17

Hoover.

9:18

When he arrives, he finds the president sitting

9:20

at his desk absorbed in a newspaper. Hoover

9:23

looks cross and complains about the coverage

9:25

in the papers, saying it's only stoking more

9:27

panic in the markets. It's giving the American

9:30

people the impression that the White House has lost

9:32

control of the economy.

9:34

The aide tells Hoover that, unfortunately, he has

9:36

even more bad news, but also an idea

9:39

that might help.

9:40

The aide hands the president a telegram from

9:42

the governor of Virginia, and when Hoover finishes

9:45

reading, he says he knows he could score political

9:47

points carrying out the governor's proposal,

9:49

but Hoover says his decision isn't about politics.

9:52

It's about printable.

9:53

And while Hoover understands he's facing public

9:55

pressure to cave, he doesn't believe

9:58

the government should interfere with the market.

9:59

and redistribute commodities. That

10:02

would only exacerbate the problem.

10:04

So instead Hoover argues that non-governmental

10:07

organizations like the Red Cross should be the

10:09

ones handling the crisis. Hoover believes

10:11

they're in a better position to provide food relief

10:14

to needy Americans. They aid nods.

10:17

He knows Hoover has a lot of faith in the Red Cross.

10:19

But if that faith proves to be misguided, more

10:22

and more Americans are going to go hungry. And

10:24

out in the countryside, farmers are going

10:26

to be forced to take desperate measures. With

10:32

the Great Depression ravaging the American

10:35

economy, and President Hoover unwilling

10:37

to meddle in the markets, farmers in

10:39

the Great Plains struggle to stay afloat.

10:42

Wheat prices continue to collapse.

10:44

And in the Southern Plains, farmers are left with

10:46

few good options, other than to keep

10:48

turning over the native grassland and

10:50

plant more crops than ever before. By 1931,

10:54

about 33 million acres have been

10:56

converted to agriculture in the Southern Plains. That

10:59

leads to a record year, with American

11:01

farmers producing 250 million bushels of wheat. But

11:05

as agriculture becomes increasingly unprofitable,

11:08

some farmers simply give up and walk

11:10

away from their land.

11:12

That's especially the case for the so-called suitcase

11:14

farmers who'd swept into the plains looking

11:17

to plant some crops, head out of town,

11:19

and then return the following year for a payout.

11:22

As the price of wheat continues to fall, many

11:24

of these suitcase farmers never come back to

11:26

their properties.

11:27

And instead, they leave the land barren and

11:29

expose to the sun and wind.

11:31

For some of the longtime residents of the plains,

11:34

the sights of these derelict farms is concerning.

11:37

One of those residents, a woman named Hazel

11:39

Lucas Shaw, had moved to the Southern Plains

11:42

in 1914 when she was just a child.

11:44

Her family was lured by the opportunity to

11:46

homestead the land and claimed their own slice

11:49

of the Oklahoma Panhandle. That

11:51

day, when the family first arrived, Shaw

11:53

was struck by the vast and stark landscape.

11:56

The plains were completely empty and flat,

11:59

with brown grass. as far as the

12:01

eye could see. For Shaw's family,

12:03

life wasn't easy.

12:05

On the plains, there were floods and fires.

12:08

And

12:08

for a while, the family had to live just like everyone

12:10

else, taking up residence in a sod

12:12

dugout, walls made of prairie grass

12:15

built directly into the soil.

12:16

But Shaw's father worked hard, plowing

12:19

up the land and growing wheat and corn.

12:21

And eventually, he saved up enough money to build

12:23

a real house made of lumber. The family

12:25

wouldn't have to fall asleep worrying about snakes

12:28

and centipedes crawling in through the walls. But

12:30

then one day, when the house was under construction, the

12:33

wind came along. It was so strong,

12:35

they ended up carrying away the entire structure,

12:38

while the family stood watching helplessly from

12:40

their old dugout. But that's just

12:42

how things were on the plains. Still,

12:45

Shaw built a good life for herself. She

12:47

took up work as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse.

12:50

And for a short time, she and her husband tried

12:52

living in Cincinnati, but it wasn't long

12:54

before they were drawn back to Oklahoma. That

12:57

day, when Shaw stepped off the train, she

12:59

looked out at the vast open horizon and

13:02

breathed in the sweet smell of freshly cut

13:04

wheat. She realized that this is what

13:06

it felt like to be home.

13:08

Which is why it hurts now to see so much

13:10

neglected farmland across the plains,

13:13

enormous plots that have been abandoned

13:15

and left to go fallow.

13:16

Shaw knows the depression has taken a toll on

13:19

farmers, but she has trouble understanding

13:21

how people could just give up. One

13:27

afternoon, Shaw is driving through the countryside

13:30

alongside her mother, Dee. Shaw

13:32

turns the steering wheel and looks out the window. I

13:34

hate seeing it, huh? Crop should have been planted by now.

13:37

Should have been. But those

13:39

fields, they belong to some suitcase farmer and never

13:41

came back. None of those guys ever returned

13:43

after the price of wheat tung. It's shameful.

13:46

How could someone just walk away like that? I

13:49

agree, Hazel, but that's life. Owning

13:51

that property means getting to do what you want

13:53

with it. It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. But

13:55

they could have sold it to someone else.

13:57

Someone could have found some use for it.

13:59

Who in their right mind would buy any

14:02

of this land? I suppose you're right. Just

14:05

sad to see the fields so bare like that. Hazel's

14:08

mother frowns. Oh, it's worse than

14:10

sad. It's a menace. You remember

14:13

how your daddy used to put mulch on the fields in

14:15

springtime? That's how you protect the ground

14:17

to keep the soil in place. But these

14:19

people are leaving. They don't tend their land. And

14:22

when they don't lay down anything to protect the soil,

14:24

we got a problem. The heat's drying out

14:26

the fields, and the spring winds have started carrying

14:28

the dirt all over the place. It's just going to keep

14:30

getting worse. Well, someone's got to do something

14:33

about it. Well, the only one who can is the

14:35

government. We know they're not going to step

14:37

in. Shaw

14:40

grips the wheel as she turns down the dirt road

14:42

leading back to her farm.

14:44

Shaw's an inveterate optimist, but

14:47

as much as she hates to admit it, her mother is right.

14:50

Their family and all the rest of the farmers in

14:52

the southern plains are powerless to change

14:54

the situation. President Hoover isn't

14:56

willing to do much to steady the price of wheat, and

14:58

if the suitcase farmers aren't able to turn a

15:00

profit, they're not going to stick around, even

15:03

if that means creating a growing mess for someone

15:06

else to clean up. The

15:10

warning signs of an ecological disaster

15:13

in the southern plains had been mounting for

15:15

years. Americans streamed

15:17

into a region that some had warned was never

15:19

fit for agriculture. They tilled up the native grasslands,

15:22

leaving millions of acres exposed to the

15:24

harsh local climate. And when the markets

15:27

crashed, many walked away from their land, allowing

15:30

nature to run its course. But

15:32

the consequences of this collective decision

15:34

are not yet apparent late in 1931, when

15:36

the country's attention is still focused on the economy.

15:39

Despite the collapse in wheat prices, many

15:42

in the southern plains have been spared the worst effects

15:44

of the Great Depression.

15:46

For nearly 20 months, there have been no

15:48

bread lines, no bank runs, and unemployment

15:50

has remained relatively low.

15:52

And because the farmers invest in their fields

15:54

and not in the stock market, they assume

15:56

their lives will remain stable. But

15:59

not changes in the south. summer of 1931. On

16:02

June 27th in Dalhart, Texas,

16:04

Sheriff Harvey Faust is sitting in his office

16:07

with his head on his desk.

16:08

It's not even new, but already the sheriff is

16:11

drunk. Recently, things have been getting

16:13

bad in the Texas panhandle, and

16:15

the worse everything gets, the earlier

16:17

the sheriff finds himself reaching for his flask.

16:20

The sheriff is dozing half awake when

16:23

there's a loud banging on his office door. Faust

16:26

peels his face off the desk and rubs his eyes,

16:29

and when he opens the door he finds a crowd of angry

16:31

locals. Faust wasn't expecting

16:33

this. He asks, what's going on?

16:36

A lank man with denim overalls and sunburned

16:38

skin says the sheriff has to do something

16:41

about the bank.

16:42

It's business hours, but the shades are drawn,

16:44

and there's a sign in the window saying the bank is

16:46

insolvent. This news hits

16:48

the sheriff like a splash of cold water. He's

16:51

read that this is happening in other parts of the country,

16:53

banks shutting down and people losing their

16:55

life savings, and the worst part is there's

16:58

nothing anyone can do about it. So

17:00

the sheriff has to figure out some way to pacify

17:02

this furious crowd. But before

17:04

he can even formulate a thought, man

17:06

and the denim overalls demands that law enforcement

17:09

take action.

17:10

The people want their money he says. They

17:12

want the sheriff to go get it, even if that

17:14

means knocking down the front door of the bank. Faust

17:17

sighs, says that wouldn't do much good.

17:20

The owners of the bank probably used customers

17:22

deposits to make investments, then lost

17:24

everything when the market crashed. So

17:26

if the bank is saying it's insolvent, and

17:29

you have to take them at their word, money

17:31

is gone. Crowd begins

17:33

jeering pointing at the sheriff demanding that

17:35

he do something. But the sheriff says

17:37

he's sorry. This is a matter for the federal

17:39

government not something for local law enforcement.

17:42

But that only further inflames the crowd.

17:45

They shout accusing the sheriff of letting

17:47

them get robbed. And before he can

17:49

stop them, they turn away and begin

17:51

marching toward the bank. Faust

17:53

and his fellow deputies are going to do whatever they

17:55

can to maintain the peace. But he meant

17:58

what he told the crowd. There's not much. local

18:00

law enforcement can do to fix

18:01

the situation. The federal government

18:04

and the president

18:05

are going to have to stop dragging their heels and address

18:07

this economic crisis. Otherwise

18:10

life in the panhandle is going to grow even more

18:12

troubled.

18:13

People in the southern plains may be employed

18:15

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American Scandal is sponsored by The Jordan

19:24

Harbinger Show.

19:25

You may have noticed, as I have, that your ability

19:28

to focus has waned. You widely

19:30

pick up your phone and start scrolling, without

19:32

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19:35

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on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever

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you listen to podcasts. Throughout 1931,

20:23

the Great Depression continues to occupy

20:25

the nation's attention.

20:27

Nearly 2,300 banks collapse

20:29

in the United States.

20:31

Over 28,000 businesses fail,

20:34

and across the country about 16% of

20:36

Americans fall into unemployment. But

20:39

in the Southern Plains, a different kind of

20:41

crisis begins to emerge. 1931

20:45

marks the beginning of an extreme drought

20:47

that will last for eight years. The

20:49

sun beats down on the prairie and the heat

20:52

is relentless. And as high winds

20:54

whip across the landscape, the region

20:56

experiences the beginning of a man-made

20:58

climate disaster that in the years to

21:00

come will take

21:01

thousands of lives and force

21:03

hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. One

21:09

day, outside Boy City, Oklahoma,

21:12

the crisis emerges in dramatic fashion.

21:15

It's April of 1932, and Hazel

21:17

Lucas Shaw is standing in front of her class

21:19

at the New Hope School, reading a lesson. All

21:22

right, everyone, copy this down into your notebooks. Shaw

21:25

heads to the chalkboard and writes a few lines.

21:29

But when she turns back to the class, she

21:33

notices that one of the boys looks distracted,

21:35

staring out the window. All right, let's bring

21:37

our attention back up front. Talk

21:39

about the conclusion we can draw from this chapter.

21:42

But the boy remains staring out the window, looking

21:44

troubled. All right, everyone, let's all

21:47

bring our attention back up front, please.

21:49

But as Shaw stands waiting, a

21:51

few other students turn and look out the window also.

21:54

One of them raises her hand. Miss Shaw,

21:56

I think you should see this. It looks dangerous. What

21:59

are you talking about?

21:59

What looks dangerous? You have to look at the sky.

22:03

Shaw sits down her chalk and heads to

22:05

the window. It's probably just another

22:07

dark thunderstorm with some strong winds and

22:09

hail. It'll be a noisy distraction,

22:12

but around here the weather always passes.

22:14

But when Shaw looks out at the horizon, she

22:17

sees an enormous black cloud approaching,

22:20

blotting out the sky. The storm

22:22

is moving fast, and as Shaw

22:24

stares at it, suddenly debris begins

22:26

slamming against the window. At

22:29

first, it sounds like someone's firing a rifle.

22:32

Then the glass shatters as dirt comes

22:34

streaming in with the wind, blinding the

22:36

children and covering everything in dust. Shaw

22:39

cries out, ordering her students to get

22:41

under their desks, and as they drop

22:44

to the floor, many of them begin crying

22:46

in fear and pain. The dust

22:48

streams across their faces, scraping their

22:50

skin and turning their tears

22:51

into mud. Students begin to

22:53

hack out agonizing coughs, while

22:56

others yell at each other to look out for Shaw's

22:58

broken glass. It's a terrifying

23:01

ordeal, but a minute later the storm

23:03

passes and an eerie calm returns

23:05

to the classroom.

23:08

Shaw wipes the dirt from her face and surveys

23:10

the damage. The students look shell-shocked

23:13

and dazed, and although she feels

23:15

badly shaken, Shaw tries to remain

23:17

poised and tells the children it's all

23:19

okay. Everyone is safe, and

23:21

everyone is going to be all right. The

23:27

dust storm that shatters windows in Boy

23:29

City, Oklahoma is one of 14

23:31

dramatic storms that strike in the Southern

23:34

Plains in 1932. The

23:36

first major storm in January appeared

23:38

outside Amarillo, Texas, and moved north

23:41

across the state's Panhandle before passing

23:43

through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.

23:46

Those who witnessed the event weren't sure what to

23:48

make of it. It moved differently

23:50

from a tornado, and it was darker than

23:52

a typical thunderstorm. So at

23:54

first, people thought it was a freak event,

23:57

but as the year goes on, these dusters

23:59

begin to fall.

23:59

become a regular occurrence. Winds

24:02

as fast as 50 miles an hour are blowing

24:04

through abandoned farms, lifting up the dry

24:07

soil and carrying it across state

24:09

lines. The storms are so dense

24:11

that they can cast a veil over the sun, blocking

24:14

out all light. And as the dust

24:16

storms continue and grain prices

24:18

remain depressed, some long-time

24:20

residents begin to wonder whether it's time

24:22

to join the suitcase farmers and walk away.

24:26

The question that Hazel Lucas Shaw takes up

24:28

with her uncle, Cece, one day in the fall

24:30

of 1932. When Hazel

24:32

steps into her uncle's house in Boy City, she

24:35

finds the longtime farmer staring off

24:37

into the distance, apparently in a dark mood.

24:40

Hazel tries to be gentle, asking Cece

24:42

what's on his mind. But her uncle sighs

24:45

and announces he's done. He's not

24:47

planting any crops this season. He

24:49

doesn't know what the point is anymore. Planes

24:51

are en-drought.

24:53

And even if they weren't, who would possibly

24:55

buy the harvest?

24:56

Then Cece suddenly falls into a fit

24:59

of coughing. Hazel hands him a handkerchief,

25:01

but when he returns it, it's soiled

25:03

with dust he's coughed up. Cece

25:06

apologizes and remarks that things

25:08

have gotten bad.

25:09

People used to say the planes were paradise.

25:12

Now these dust storms are making the planes

25:14

look like it's end times.

25:16

Cece doesn't see things getting much better anytime

25:18

soon. But Hazel has always chosen

25:20

to see the bright side. She's just not

25:23

fit for doom and gloom. So

25:25

she tells her uncle that as bad as things have gotten,

25:27

she thinks it's about to change.

25:29

Hazel believes Franklin Delano Roosevelt

25:31

is going to win the election in November. And

25:34

when he does, he's going to turn the country around, and

25:36

life in the planes is going to get back to normal.

25:39

Hazel's uncle Cece acknowledges

25:41

Roosevelt might be a better politician than Hoover.

25:44

But he's not God. He can't make rain

25:46

fall from the sky or stop these new dust

25:48

storms from ravaging the land.

25:51

Still, Hazel encourages her uncle to keep

25:53

the faith.

25:54

She has to believe that the worst times are

25:56

now behind them.

25:57

But even as the words come out of her mouth...

26:00

They feel hollow. Hazel has seen

26:02

the way the drought has shriveled up their garden. How

26:04

the dust storms have buried their pastridge, understand.

26:08

They've been feeding the animals with tumbleweed, and

26:10

their dairy cows are storming. But

26:12

even so, she tries to push away

26:15

these dreary thoughts and focus on

26:17

the good

26:17

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27:31

Some residents of the Great Plains, like

27:33

Hazel Lucas Shaw, had clung to the hope

27:35

that life would improve, that the rain would

27:38

return and the blinding dust storms would

27:40

become a relic of the past. But

27:42

with drought still gripping the region and

27:44

millions of acres of dry topsoil exposed

27:46

to the winds, the storms only

27:48

grow worse throughout the early 1930s.

27:51

In 1933, there are severe

27:54

dust storms on 70 separate days. They

27:56

are strong enough to blow out windows in people's homes and shore up the

27:59

the electricity in their cars. And

28:02

beginning in March of 1935,

28:04

dust storms pummel the region for 30 consecutive

28:07

days.

28:08

All across the plains, these storms

28:11

become more than just a nuisance.

28:13

The region increasingly begins to resemble

28:15

an arid desert. Soil

28:17

piles up beside people's houses, creating

28:19

dunes up to four feet tall. Every

28:22

day, men and women have to shovel dirt

28:24

off their cars, the same way people

28:26

in winter might shovel away snow.

28:28

But on bad days, people don't risk

28:31

going outside at all.

28:32

The air is so polluted with dirt, they're afraid

28:34

they'll get lost in the haze or choke to

28:36

death.

28:37

Still, staying inside isn't much better.

28:40

With fierce winds blowing, fine particles

28:42

of dust come creeping through any crack

28:45

in the walls, coating everything in sight.

28:47

People try to adapt, covering their

28:50

windows with sheets and blankets soaked in

28:52

water to better absorb the dust.

28:54

They tape their doors shut, the stuffed newspapers

28:56

into the cracks in the walls. And

28:58

when they do venture outside, residents try

29:00

to protect themselves by smearing Vaseline

29:02

under their noses and wearing masks.

29:05

But those are only half measures, and

29:07

they don't stop people in the plains from inhaling

29:09

dirt. This chronic exposure

29:12

to polluted air creates a new deadly

29:14

phenomenon known as dust pneumonia,

29:17

a condition that one doctor begins to see more

29:19

and more in his patients in Diamond, Oklahoma.

29:22

One afternoon in the mid-1930s,

29:25

Dr. John H. Blue is walking down

29:27

a bright hallway inside a public school where

29:29

the Red Cross has set up an emergency hospital.

29:32

It's a sunny day outside, but Dr. Blue is

29:34

unable to see through any of the windows. They're

29:37

all covered with cloth meant to prevent dust

29:39

from blowing inside.

29:41

But these coverings don't appear to be doing much

29:43

good. As the doctor looks down the

29:45

hallway, he can see that the floor is coated

29:47

in dust. He also notices a set

29:49

of footprints leading to a window where

29:51

a nurse is pinning up another bed sheet. This

29:54

is a far cry from a proper medical

29:57

establishment,

29:58

but it's all they've been able to manage given the the current

30:00

conditions here in the southern plains.

30:02

The Red Cross has opened several hospitals

30:05

just like this one, and for doctors

30:07

like John Blue, the most immediate task

30:09

is to address a medical crisis now striking

30:11

the region. The hospital is overflowing

30:14

with patients suffering from respiratory-related

30:16

illnesses. People's ailments appear

30:19

to be caused by breathing in dirty air, the

30:21

result of these near-constant dust

30:23

storms that have transformed the plains. Dr.

30:26

Blue wants to help his patients,

30:28

but he's now waging a fight against larger forces

30:31

of nature, and many who take up beds

30:33

in this makeshift hospital are too

30:35

far along to save. Still,

30:41

Dr. Blue has to try. So

30:43

as he walks past a long row of hospital

30:45

bed, he stops at one patient who

30:47

can't stop coughing. He's a

30:49

young man who otherwise looks healthy. As

30:52

Dr. Blue reviews the patient's file, you

30:54

can see the man's not doing well. Well,

30:57

son, how are you doing today?

30:59

I haven't been able to stop coughing. Any

31:01

aches or pains? I have plenty. A

31:04

few in my chest and my arms and legs?

31:08

I just can't breathe. Well, do you mind if I take

31:10

a closer look? Yeah, whatever you can do

31:12

to help. Alright, then. Go ahead and

31:14

open your mouth, please. Dr. Blue

31:16

grabs a small flashlight and peers into

31:19

the patient's throat.

31:20

He doesn't like what he sees. Well, son,

31:22

if I can be blunt, I prefer

31:24

it. Doesn't take an expert to see.

31:27

The back of your mouth, your throat, it's all covered

31:29

in dirt. That explains it, doesn't it? It

31:31

likely does. Tell me, what do you do for work? I'm

31:34

a farmhand. I spend my days out in the

31:36

fields. Well, son, being out there

31:38

while the dust blows, that's what's causing you all these

31:40

symptoms. It's getting in your lungs.

31:43

The patient gives a weary nod, but

31:45

doesn't look entirely convinced. But what

31:47

about everything else? I get stomach aches. My

31:49

chest hurts. I can't keep my food down. Well,

31:52

that's because from what I understand, this

31:54

dust doesn't only affect the respiratory system.

31:57

The nervous and circulatory systems as

31:59

well as the... digestive organs, the kidneys, the liver,

32:02

they're all affected. So just about everything

32:04

now. Well, Doc, I guess

32:06

it's my turn to be blunt with you. Tell me. Am

32:09

I gonna die? I don't know, son. But

32:11

I'll do everything my power to help. The

32:16

young man nods solemnly, and Dr. Blue

32:18

tries to put on a brave face.

32:20

Most of the patients he's lost are infants,

32:22

children, or the elderly.

32:24

But this young man's symptoms are fairly far along.

32:27

If anyone's guessed whether his body is healthy

32:29

enough to mount a successful response. And

32:32

tragically, within just 24 hours,

32:35

Dr. Blue's patient does succumb to his illness

32:37

and passes away. Dr.

32:39

Blue somberly notes the young man's information

32:42

in a report he's working on for a medical association.

32:44

Like others, the doctor has treated for dust pneumonia.

32:47

He seemed to be showing signs of silicosis,

32:50

which is traditionally a coal miner's disease

32:52

spurred on by decades spent working underground.

32:55

Now Dr. Blue is seeing it in patients who've only

32:57

been working outside in the fields for three years.

33:00

But with dust storms continuing to ravage

33:03

the Southern Plains,

33:04

all he and other physicians can do is study

33:06

the problem and see if they can't find

33:08

some kind of solution.

33:13

Throughout the mid-1930s, dust

33:15

storms continue to blow across the prairie.

33:18

The most extreme and persistent ones are

33:20

in northeastern New Mexico, southwestern

33:22

Kansas, and Colorado, and

33:25

the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle. The

33:27

Red Cross advises residents not to go

33:29

outdoors unless it's absolutely necessary,

33:32

and with life in the plains becoming increasingly

33:35

inhospitable, a small but steady

33:37

stream of people begin to flee. Still

33:40

others remain, hoping the drought will soon

33:42

end and that the coming rains will wash away

33:44

their troubles. But on April 14, 1935, the

33:49

region is hit with a dust storm so large

33:51

and powerful the day comes to be known

33:53

as Black Sunday. In Dallum

33:56

County, Texas, teenager Milt White

33:58

is standing outside his home waiting for his family

34:00

to finish getting ready for church. It's

34:02

Palm Sunday, and Melt's mother insisted

34:05

that he wear his best clothes for the services.

34:07

So as Melt stands tugging at his collar,

34:10

he takes in the sorry state of the family garden.

34:13

There once promising watermelons are dying

34:15

from the static electricity brought on by the

34:17

storms, while their other vegetables look

34:19

shriveled and desiccated. It's

34:21

been a hard last three months in the Texas

34:24

panhandle.

34:25

There have been forty-nine dust storms, and it's beginning

34:27

to feel like dirty air has become the rule and

34:29

not the exception. But today,

34:31

the weather is actually looking pretty nice. The

34:34

sky is blue and the birds are chirping. Melt

34:37

doesn't even have to wear a mask and goggles while

34:39

outside. And for the first time in a long

34:41

while, his mother Lizzie is smiling,

34:43

because usually Melt catches her with tears

34:46

in her eyes. She hates living here

34:48

and makes no secret about it.

34:50

But this morning, the clear skies

34:52

made her so happy that she announced the family

34:54

was going to spend the morning cleaning the house. Wiping

34:57

down the countertops wouldn't seem like a celebratory

35:00

event for most people.

35:01

But ever since the dusters first started blowing,

35:04

cleaning has felt like an exercise of futility.

35:07

Why sweep up when the dust is just

35:09

going to blow right on in again? For

35:11

today, Melt's mother seems to be feeling hopeful

35:13

about the future.

35:14

And it was so nice seeing her smile that everyone

35:16

was happy to pitch in.

35:18

They dusted and scrubbed all four hundred

35:20

square feet of the family's two-room shack and

35:22

they washed all the dirt off their bedsheets. And

35:25

then one by one, they hopped in a bathtub and

35:27

cleaned off weeks of soil that had grown

35:29

caked on their skin.

35:31

Melt feels good to be clean with a cool

35:33

breeze blowing through his hair.

35:35

But as he walks across the front yard,

35:37

he notices a large flock of birds

35:39

racing across the sky. Behind

35:42

them, a strange swarm of insects.

35:45

When Melt turns south, he notices

35:47

a streak of black moving quickly

35:49

across the sky.

35:50

The approaching storm is towering. It

35:53

appears to be nearly a mile high from top

35:55

to bottom. So Melt runs into the house

35:57

and tells his father, damn, that they're probably

37:54

the

38:00

Amazon Music app today, or

38:02

you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus

38:04

and Apple Podcasts. Before you go,

38:06

tell us about yourself by completing a short survey

38:09

at wondery.com slash survey.

38:11

If

38:15

you'd like to learn more about The Dust Bowl, we

38:17

recommend the book The Worst Hard Time

38:20

by Timothy Egan and The Dust Bowl,

38:22

a documentary film by Ken Burns airing

38:24

on PBS. This episode

38:27

contains reenactments and dramatized details.

38:29

And while in most cases we can't know exactly

38:32

what was said, all our dramatizations

38:34

are based on historical research. American

38:37

Scandal is hosted, edited, and executed, produced

38:39

by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio

38:41

editing by Christian Paraga. Sound

38:44

design by Molly Bond.

38:45

Music editing by Katrina Zimmer. Music

38:48

by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written

38:50

by Vanessa Gomez. Edited

38:52

by Emma Cortland. Produced by Andy

38:54

Herman. Checking by Alyssa Jung

38:57

Perry. Our senior producer is Gabe

38:59

Rimmett. Executive producers are Stephanie

39:01

Jens, Jenny Lauer Beckman, and Marsha

39:03

Louis for Wondery.

39:14

Hi listeners. I'm Donnie Dust, and

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I'm here to tell you about our new podcast, Rescue.

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