What the Paper Said

WWII: Experts get it wrong

In this episode – the week ending 16 November 1924 – the brightest and the best gaze into their crystal balls to tell us what the next war will be like. And get it wrong. There is more correspondence on poverty, there is something odd going on in the gold market and we learn about London’s tall buildings. We learn about German Anglophobia and French driving habits. Also, how many Etonians does it take to make a cabinet and what is the best way to pay for theatre tickets: money or chocolate?

Conservative Landslide

In this episode – the week ending 9 November 1924 – Calvin Coolidge wins a landslide in the US presidential election. Winston Churchill gets a promotion - one that he and everybody else will live to regret. The government picks some airship winners. It’s not going well for the Emperor of China and we find out why London up until recently had so few tall buildings. And poverty, the workhouse and the K.O. Club.

Conservative Landslide

This week – the week ending 2 November 1924 – the Conservative/Unionist Party achieves the biggest and least-well-known election victory of the 20th century. Arguably.

Ramsay MacDonald goes very quiet. Churchill is cheered by a crowd. Churchill is not cheered by the Navy.

Russians cause trouble in Britain. Russians cause trouble in British Columbia. And Russians cause trouble for Stalin.

And Zinoviev makes trouble for Zinoviev.

The Zinoviev Letter

In this episode – the week ending 26 October 1924 – the Zinoviev Letter hits the press. What does it say? Is it a forgery? Does it matter? Did it make any difference? Also in this episode Gresham's Law and the political speech; the Germans go to the polls again; Grand Admiral Tirpitz the Peacemaker; and why you shouldn't trust the Rumanian press.

Is the Labour leader a fascist?

In this episode – the 19 October 1924 – it's election fever yet again. Manifestoes, speeches, whistle-stops, radio, disruption, Russian interference, Fascist interference. Will the country get it right this time? Probably yes. Or as right as they can. Also Mecca falls, some gun running and should there be preservatives in food and lights on bicycles and where was Columbus from?

Another Election?

In this episode – the week ending 12 October 1924 – Britain faces yet another general election, the third in three years. Will they get it right this time? Meanwhile we get to have fun with national income statistics. Also an Irish republican gets it wrong, and I spot a couple of terms I did not expect to see.

Is the Labour government finished?

In this episode – the week ending 4 October 1924 – the Labour Party has a communism problem. A big communism problem. And a smaller corruption problem. The Americans have begun dabbling with opinion polls; South Africa has a race problem; Britain deals with an asylum seeker and a man is convicted of "furious driving"

Who is Zaghlul Pasha?

In this episode – the week ending 28 September 1924 – we ask the question who is Zaghlul Pasha? While we get an answer to that, the intricacies of Britain's relationship with Egypt remain opaque. A woman complains about woman drivers. It is a good week for HMS Hood, Winston Churchill London ratepayers and mainline electrification economics and a bad week for Lord Long, communists in the Labour Party and industrial relations.

Neville Chamberlain puts the boot in

In this episode, the week ending 21 September 1924, Neville Chamberlain has fun at the expense of the Labour Party, the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo is in court, the dangers of state-controlled healthcare and the dangers of alcohol in the hands of the Finn.

MacDonald in his own words

In this episode – the week ending 14 September 1924 – I finally get round to featuring the first Labour Prime Minister in his own words and instantly regret my decision as indeed will you. His Colonial Secretary also speaks. That's a bit more interesting. China descends into civil war earlier than expected. Prohibition turns out to be a failure - shocker. A Fascist is murdered and Londoners find a new use for ink.

The downside of petrol

Dawes | Anglo-Soviet Treaty | Savinkov | Joseph Conrad | Canton | Mexico Murder | Southern Railway Timetable | Overhead Roads | Film banned.

A Corrupt Tyranny

In this episode - the week ending 3 August 1924 - a correspondent writes to complain about what he describes as a "corrupt tyranny". Is his subject Soviet Russia, Fascist Italy or something quite different? Meanwhile communism and capitalism battle it out for the title of who is best at fish delivery and communists find that they have signed up for rather more than they bargained for.

Olympics Doomed

In this week's episode – the week ending 27 July 1924 – the Olympics appear to be doomed. Only xenophobia can save them. We find out how to eat healthily, what crime is doing and how education has changed or not in the last century. The state discharges sewage into a river and why guns and teachers don't mix. 

The Housing Crisis

In this episode, the week ending 20 July 1924, a former housing minister describes 80 years of state interference in housing. An American describes his encounters with British service culture. And it's hot in France.

Curtail the Olympics

In this episode – the week ending 13 July 1924 – we find out why the Olympics needs to be slimmed down; why Fulham Borough Council are sadists and why trams are doomed (as if we needed reminding). The Democrats ditch their leading candidate, traffic lights come to New York, metricators set their sights on another target and what does the future hold for the top hat?

Digging Delayed

In this week’s episode – the week ending 6 July 1924 – the Channel Tunnel is doomed, Everest is doomed, the Democrats are doomed to repeated ballots, the dangers of jazz and why you should believe all fish merchants. 

The Channel Tunnel (of 1924)

In this episode – the week ending 29 June 1924 – Britain ponders motorways and a Channel Tunnel. The Matteotti affair rumbles on. Some cowboys fall foul of the law and it's not so much bring out the Branston as shut down the Branston.

Matteotti Missing

In this episode – the week ending 22 June 1924 – the news is dominated by the apparent assassination of Giacomo Matteotti the Italian opposition leader. Although it does not appear that Il Duce is directly implicated he deserves a lot of the blame. Meanwhile, a British diplomat is in trouble in Mexico – when aren't they? – and there's bad news from Everest. A US judge demonstrates the correct use of firearms and some senators get gassed.

Mussolini and his critics

In this episode the week ending 15 June 1924, Mussolini takes on his critics, girls find that their schoolwork suffers from th need to become home audio systems. The plight of country houses. Stanley Baldwin makes an observation, France gets a new President; the Soviet Union gets a new cult of personality; Albania gets a civil war. Times readers prove that they can argue about the number of angels on a scrap of paper, there are doubts about the number of gorillas anywhere, a man claims he has found a cure for cancer and the war claims another victim. Or is that two?

The Housing Crisis (1924 style)

In this episode the week ending 8 June 1924, Labour’s “solution” to the housing crisis. Is the cure worse than the disease? A priest gets mixed up in politics. A Lieutenant Governor has a good week. There’s chaos on the Underground and in France. Trotsky gets put in his place but not yet his grave and what is the Royal Navy up to in the Red Sea?

The Death Ray!

In this episode, the week ending 1 June 1924, a man with a history of extraordinary claims claims to have invented a Death Ray. Things are not going well in China. What we can learn from a Citroën advert. And why government can't get anything done.

War Horrors

In this episode, the week ending 25 May 1924, the First World War claims two more victims, a couple of titbits on how that war started, the price of cocaine, Dublin council is closed down, and the importance of an apron with a scalloped edge of diamanté band.

The problem with tanks

In this episode - the fortnight ending 18 May 1924 - we find out why tanks might not be the future of warfare; what the French think of the English and an admiral comes to the aid of Churchill. Also in this episode election results from France, Germany and Japan, Oswald Mosley's plans and why Downing Street's barriers might be a good thing.

The Labour Budget: Don't hold your breath

In this episode, the week ending 5 May 1924, Labour's first ever budget is unveiled, the merits of flogging, the Labour/Communist feud, paper money turns out to be even more dangerous than previously thought, German electioneering turns out to be duller than previously thought, even duller than previously thought, we find how much it costs to build a house and buy an Agatha Christie mystery and what happens if you rob a bank to pay for them. 

Why is America saying "no" to the Japanese?

In this episode, 27 April 1924, The Times explains why the American are putting an end to Japanese immigration; Ulster's border remains in doubt; the state messes up housing - not for the last time; we find out how safe trains are and what is threatening the shop window display?

Give them the money!

In this week's episode - the week ending 20 April 1924 - for the first and only time in recorded history nurses aren't paid enough; in a reversal of roles communists find police if not under the bed then under the stage; the Americans ban Japanese immigration, the Japanese are not happy; Belgian students battle it out; Haig on shooting and the benefits of the gold standard.

Mussolini wins

Week Ending 13 April 1924. In this episode Mussolini wins a crushing victory in the Italian general election. Only the slightest suggestion of skullduggery. Waterloo Bridge is to be rebuilt. An admiral gets it horribly wrong on battleships. Neville Chamberlain gets it horribly right on the Liberal Party. Plus the problem with the mail, the problem with Vauxhall cars and the correct use of turtles.

Farcical sentences

6 April 1924. Hitler and Co. get sent down... but not for long. Some don’t even get that. The British government publishes its accounts. And… they balance! Plus, the Empire Exhibition, the Château general and the front line, Scots and meths and Russians are attempting to annex their neighbours’ territory.

Trams in Trouble

Week Ending 30 March 1924. Also in this episode: Singapore | Bus strike | Munich Trial | Agatha Christie | Waterloo Bridge 

Week Ending 23 March 1924

In this episode: Japan prepares for war | The speed limit | Roundabout | Tram finances | Machine-gun barrage | Street football | 

Week Ending 16 March 1924

In this episode:  Conservative ideals | William Robertson | GWR in concert | In-train entertainment | Genial Omnibus | The Yarrow Scheme | Teapot Dome Scandal

Week Ending 9 March 1924

In this episode:  Churchill stands | Hitler: a correction | The end of the Caliphate | Gallipoli | A con woman | Trams | Buses | The Sparks Effect | German unemployment | Race riots in New York | Sugar | Egham vandalism

Week Ending 2 March 1924

In this episode:  Hitler on trial | Subways | Insanity | Future of war | Churchill the Conservative?| Vagrancy | Vitriol 

Week Ending 24 February 1924

In this episode:  The Underground and The Competition | Poplar | Kahr resigns | Factory disaster | Flyover | River boats

Week Ending 17 February 1924

In this episode: The Times reviews a car | Baldwin | Rhineland | Coolidge | Closing hours | Overcrowding | Oil & War | Vitriol

Communist Russia, Tram Cars and the Gold Standard

Welcome to "What the Paper Said" with your host, Patrick Crozier. In this episode, we will dive into the pages of The Times from a century ago, sharing some interesting news from the week ending on the 3rd of February, 1924. While the theme of the episode is focused on the gold standard, you will find a selection of unique stories from around the world that took place during this week in history.

The episode begins with some international news; Lenin's funeral which saw Petrograd renamed as Leningrad, and the tumultuous politics of the Soviet Union. Britain made the move to officially recognise the Soviet Union and in Omsk, a rebellion brought a fiery end to a local communist committee meeting. From Russia, we transition to the United States where the Teapot Dome scandal has begun to reveal corruption and greed at high governmental levels.

Moving away from politics, the host, Patrick Crozier covers less-touched upon territories like India, which was at that time a part of the British Empire. The Times carried an article about the political scenario of India, shedding light on representation, power dynamics, and the region's imminent influential figures – Gandhi and Nehru. Also discussed were legal rulings in South Africa that impacted race relations and the ubiquitous annoyance of tram cars.

The episode then dives into the world of finance, as Patrick discusses The Times' Annual Financial and Commercial Review and educates listeners on the ebb and flow of the economy after World War I - the boom and bust that followed - and how the gold standard played a significant role in stabilising the economy during those times. Furthermore, he touches upon a critical aspect of what was then considered a solution to money printing - the Gold Standard - exploring its pros and cons, and dispelling myths associated with it.

This episode offers an engaging journey through history, providing unique insights into international politics, finance, common law, and everyday lifefrom the 1920s. Tune into "What the Paper Said" and enjoy an immersive time travel experience.

A Dive into the Times and Life of Woodrow Wilson

In this AI-assisted episode of "What the Paper Said," the host, Patrick Crozier, provides insights into what was making headlines in the Times from a hundred years ago, particularly during the week ending on February 10, 1924. The episode touches on a diverse range of subjects starting with the release of Mr. Gandhi from prison in India to the political developments in the Soviet Union. Major milestones like the appointment of a new Prime Minister and alleged attempts to destabilize Estonia are discussed.

The central highlight of this episode focuses on the recollections of former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's life and contributions, as reflected by the Times. Explore the shifts in diplomatic landscapes, changes in architectural norms, the ebb and flow in fuel prices, gender bridges in the legal field, and the vital lessons gathered from historical events. Patrick concludes with a thoughtful assessment of Wilson's influence and legacy in shaping world affairs.

This show will take you on a trip through time, comparing past events with the present, critically analyzing the implications and outcomes of policy decisions, and drawing some eye-opening conclusions on the way history can impact the present day. Tune in to this riveting episode for a refreshing perspective on history through the lens of a century-old newspaper.

Week Ending 27 January 1924

In this episode: Lenin dies | First Labour government | Railway strike | Thames floods | Clerical consternation

Week Ending 20 January 1924

In this episode: The motor revolution and Hyde Park Corner | Railway Strike | Ernest Benn on unemployment| Labour leader's gaffe | HMV 

Three weeks Ending 13 January 1923

In this episode: terror bombing | advertising and Big Oil | Imperial Airways

The World a Hundred Years Ago

How the world would appear to a reader of The Times in 1924.

Week Ending 23 December 1923

In this episode: Motorway! | Rhineland | China | Latin | The Fax | Stalin | Motorways

Week Ending 16 December 1923

In this episode: Britain tackles Foot & Mouth | Conrad von Hötzendorff | Railway turnover | Poison pens | German despotism | Honest politicians

Week Ending 9 December 1923

In this episode: The War on Drugs | Election (19)23 | Rhineland | Cars | Helicopters 

Week Ending 2 December 1923

In this episode: Churchill campaigns | Berlin Bother | Rhineland separatism | RBS | The Slump | Traffic census | Basil Zaharoff | Fog | A Guardsman dies

Week Ending 25 November 1923

In this episode: Election fever | Streseman loses | Havenstein | Ypres | Acting improperly | Viennese anti-semitism

Week Ending 18 November 1923

In this episode The Beerhall Putsch Part II | A general election | Armistice Day | Palestine | Murders of Jews | Aston Villa | Shoes | Wireless 

Week Ending 11 November 1923

In this episode: The Beerhall Putsch | Bonar Law buried | What next for Churchill? | Riots | KKK | Snuff

Week Ending 4 November 1923

The death of Andrew Bonar Law

Week Ending 28 October 1923

Protectionism | More chaos in Germany | Doctors' Pay | Railway Profits