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 An estimated 770,000 Americans experienced homelessness in 2024, a 32 percent increase since 2022. Families with children represent the largest increase. This disturbing trend is driven, in large part, by high rents and the lack of affordable housing. When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, there were two million people left homeless by the Depression. New Deal policies were implemented to stimulate private development, protect homeowners from foreclosure and build housing for the middle class and working poor. In his second inaugural address in 1937, FDR cautioned that progress toward economic recovery had been made, but the work was far from finished: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished," he said. “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
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By Harvey Smith
Twenty developed nations have the world’s lowest rates of homelessness, according to the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCED). Despite being the wealthiest nation in human history, the U.S. is not among them. In 1944, FDR proposed an economic “Bill of Rights,” based on the principle that all people have inherent rights to employment, housing, education and medical care. What are we waiting for? READ MORE |
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By Anne Schnoebelen
Treasure Island, tethered to San Francisco via the New Deal-funded Oakland-Bay Bridge, preserves a collection of irreplaceable sculptures from the Golden Gate International Exposition that took place there more than eight decades ago. The question now is whether these “Pacific Unity” artworks can survive the island’s redevelopment. READ MORE |
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 The Living New Deal WPA 90th Anniversary Celebration
Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley, California
"Tunes from Our Backyard"Sunday, October 19, 2025 3-5pm PDT
During the Great Depression, San Francisco native Sidney Robertson carried out a remarkable ethnomusicological survey—the WPA California Folk Music Project. From 1938 to 1940, with support from the Works Progress Administration, the University of California, Berkeley and twenty staff handpicked from the California relief rolls, she recorded and documented the diverse musical traditions in the state. This archive of songs, photographs, writings and drawings inspired “Tunes From Our Backyard,” a program by composer and musician David Steinberg celebrating the musical traditions of California’s ethnic communities featuring live performances by Bay Area musicians and vocalists, Robertson’s original field recordings, video animation and artifacts from the WPA collection. $30 Advance tickets. $35 at the door. TICKETS
"How can we believe that these successive waves of hard-working citizens contributed nothing to California beyond the work of their hands? What traditions came with them? What were they thinking and feeling? . . . Their songs will tell us, if we can find them."
— Sidney Robertson Cowell, San Francisco Chronicle, 1938
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Living New Deal Webinars Via Zoom
Our webinars are live, interactive conversations on topics related to the New Deal and its pertinence today, featuring authors, artists, opinion leaders and other educators.
 "The Currency of Ben Shahn’s Public Art"
With Laura Katzman and John Ott
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 8-9pm EDT
Artist Ben Shahn’s lifelong commitment to social justice is the subject of “On Non-Conformity,” a major exhibition at the Jewish Museum of New York curated by Laura Katzman. This webinar considers Shahn’s New Deal murals in the context of the Trump administration’s cutbacks to the General Services Administration, which stewards federal buildings and artworks.
Laura Katzman is professor of art history at James Madison University. She is co-author of the award-winning Ben Shahn’s "New York: The Photography of Modern Times (2000)" and is principal author of "Re-viewing Documentary: The Photographic Life of Louise Rosskam (2014)." John Ott is professor of art history at James Madison University. His current book projects are "Mixed Media: The Visual Cultures of Racial Integration, 1931–1954" and "Return to Sender: Race and Iconoclashes over New Deal Murals, 1934–present." He serves on the board of Living New Deal's Advocating for New Deal Art initiative. FREE. INFO & REGISTER
  “The Federal Theater, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War”
A conversation with James Shapiro and Susan Quinn
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 5-6pm PDT (rescheduled)
The Federal Theater Project brought live theater to thousands of ordinary Americans for the first time. At times controversial for its social commentary, the FTP became of target of the right wing. Shapiro’s award-winning book “The Playbook, A Story of the Theater, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War” chronicles the rise and demise of the Federal Theater and the parallels to our current reality. He is a professor at Columbia University and a Shakespeare Scholar-in-Residence at the Public Theater in New York City. Susan Quinn is author of “Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times,” about the FTP director Hallie Flanagan and her battle against the House Un-American Activities Committee. Susan’s play, “It CAN Happen Here,” co-written with Dan Jacobs, premiered at New York's Culture Lab in March 2025. FREE. REGISTER
 "Leon Bibel, Forgotten Artist of the New Deal"
With Richard Haw
Tuesday, November 11, 2025, 5-6pm PDT
Artist Leon Bibel, like many of his generation, survived the Great Depression because of the New Deal. He worked on murals funded by the Public Works of Art Project and served in the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1936 he joined the Federal Art Project. He painted, etched, drew, carved, printed, stamped and stenciled. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Library and Boston Museum of Fine Art. Author Richard Haw will tell the story of how Bibel, a kid from a Polish shtetl, took opportunities offered by FDR’s New Deal and why his story is relevant today. Haw is professor at John Jay College in New York. His latest book "Leon Bibel, Forgotten Artist of the New Deal" is the first biography of this eclectic artist. FREE. REGISTER
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 Exhibit
Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg, Kansas
"Practical In Her Art: Women Artists of the 1930s"
Through October 19, 2025
Women artists in Kansas worked tirelessly to keep the visual arts alive during the Depression years— teaching and blazing trails, including art therapy programs and artists’ unions. Curators from around the state collaborated to highlight the careers of Kansas women artists and the progress they made enlarging the field. The gallery’s namesake, Birger Sandzén, created three post office murals in Kansas for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and connected young artists to opportunities in New Deal arts programs. INFO
LOCATION: Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, 401 N. First Street, Lindsborg, KS
 Exhibit
The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
"Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity”
Through October 26, 2025
This career-spanning retrospective examines the artist's lifelong commitment to social and economic justice.“On Nonconformity” draws its title from Shahn’s credo of nonconformity as a precondition for both significant artistic production and great societal change. It features paintings, prints, photographs, ephemera and mural studies Shahn made while working for the WPA’s Federal Art Project.
TICKETS AND INFO
LOCATION: The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave, New York, NY
 A Musical Revue
Mercury Theater, Petaluma, California
“Pins and Needles”
Saturday, August 30-Sunday, September 14, 2025
“Pins and Needles” was first performed in 1937 by then-striking members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and played for years to sold-out audiences. FDR declared the musical’s “Call it Unamerican” his favorite song. The current production features former Poet Laureate of San Francisco Alejandro Murguía providing Spanish translation to several songs, reflecting the importance of Hispanic people in today’s labor movement. Union members enjoy a discount. TICKETS AND INFO
LOCATION: Mercury Theater, Cinnabar Theater Building, 3333 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, CA
 KALW Public Media
"The Public Works" audio series
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 11am PDT
The Living New Deal is a sponsor of this six-part series on the New Deal's history and legacy in the Bay Area. Produced by Sheryl Kaskowitz, author of "A Chance to Harmonize," which won Honorable Mention in last year's New Deal Book Award, the series will air monthly on KALW's Crosscurrents, kicking off with an episode entitled, "Public Space: New Deal History Hides Among the Roses,” about the WPA's Berkeley Rose Garden. Listen at 91.7 FM and online at kalw.org.
 Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, New York City
Panel Discussion, In person and via Zoom
“Social Security at 90—Its Inspiring History and Imperiled Future”
Wednesday & Thursday, September 10-September 11, 2025, 6pm EDT
Two panel discussions: Wednesday, September 10,“How Was Social Security Born?" with panelists Ralph Blumenthal, Sarah Peskin, John Dubin and Jonathan Alter.
Thursday, September 11,“How Do We Keep Social Security Alive?” with Harold Holzer, Martin O’Mally, Beth Finkel, Ruth Finklestein, Eric Kingston and R. Douglas Arnold. INFO AND REGISTRATION
LOCATION: Roosevelt House 47-49 East 65th Street, New York, NY
 The Smithsonian Association
New Deal Walking Tour of Washington, DC
Friday, September 12, 2025, 10am-12pm EDT
The New Deal sponsored over 500 public works projects in the nation’s capital. Join author David Taylor for a walking tour of New Deal buildings, art and landmarks. Stops include the Library of Congress, old Social Security Administration building and Jefferson Memorial. TICKETS AND INFO
 Film Festival, Detroit, Michigan
Better Cities Film Festival
September 18-21, 2025
"Your Rose Garden," a musical homage to Berkeley’s WPA Rose Garden, will be featured at the 12th annual Better Cities Film Festival. Founded in 2013 in Los Angeles, the Festival curates and exhibits films from around the world, all focused on the theme of making cities and towns better places to live, work and play. TICKETS
LOCATION: Campus Martius, 800 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
 Exhibit/Reception
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, California
"Last West: Dorothea Lange’s California Revisited"
Saturday, September 20, 2025-January 4, 2026
This exhibition touches on the eerily contemporary issues Dorothea Lange photographed nearly a century ago—mass migration and homelessness, climate change and internment, presenting Lange’s iconic images, as well as rarely seen contemporary works by California artists. The exhibit also features live theater, reflecting current movements for dignity in the lives of the people upon whom California’s robust economy and agriculture depend.
Opening Reception, Saturday, September 27, 5-7pm. Free for SVMA Members/$10 non-Members. Registration required.
Theater performances: Five actors tell the story of Lange's life against a backdrop of her work. November 7, 8, 9 / December 5, 6, 7. Tickets: $52-$32. Free Student Matinees November 7 & December 5. All theater tickets include admission to the museum. $52. TICKETS AND INFO
LOCATION: Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, 551 Broadway, Sonoma, CA
 History Talk
Central Library, Indianapolis, Indiana
"James E. Roberts School and Its Legacy"
Saturday, September 23, 2025, 6:30-7:30pm
The James E. Roberts School for Crippled Children, the first public school in Indiana for physically handicapped children, opened in 1936 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The Living New Deal Associate Glory-June Greiff will present an illustrated talk about the building’s history, why it was built, why it was abandoned and how it was saved. FREE. REGISTER
LOCATION: Central Library, 40 East Saint Clair Street, Indianapolis, IN
 Music, Poster Exhibit, Workshop
Social Impact Studios and Discovery Orchestra, Morristown, New Jersey
“Music for the People”
90th Anniversary of the Federal Music Project (1935-1939)
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 1-5pm
The Federal Music Project was the first arts program created under the New Deal. Celebrate this historical and cultural milestone with live music,“Posters for the People” exhibit and discussion about the WPA music project. Program info and tickets ($10 adults, under age 18, Free).
LOCATION: Historic Kellogg Mansion, 25 Colles Street, Morristown, NJ
 Benefit
Treasure Island Museum, San Francisco
Golden Anniversary Benefit Swing Dance
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 7-10pm
The Golden Anniversary Swing Dance Benefit is a celebration of the island’s history as a cultural, intellectual and artistic hub. The historic Art Moderne Building One served as the administrative center for the 1938 Golden Gate International Exposition and was the airline terminal for the Pan Am Clippers.
TICKETS ($50 advance), SPONSORSHIPS & INFO
LOCATION: Building One,1 Avenue of the Palms, San Francisco, CA
 Exhibit
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY
“Signature Moments: Letters from the Famous, the Infamous and Everyday Americans”
Through July 7, 2026
During their extraordinary public careers, the Roosevelts interacted with a “who’s who” of the 20th century. A special exhibit provides an insider’s view of the sometimes surprising variety of personal exchanges FDR and Mrs. Roosevelt had with an array of famous (and a few infamous) people. INFO
LOCATION: FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY
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Some links may limit access for nonsubscribers. Please support local journalism, if you can.
Trump’s Cultural Revolution is Just Getting Started
The Trump administration is trying to impose a new portrait of America that is without flaw and without internal debate.
By David Firestone
The New York Times, August 8, 2025
Social Security is Turning 90. Here are 6 Myths That Won’t Go Away
FDR signed the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935. It’s now at a crossroads. Getting Social Security back on track requires sorting out truth from fiction.
By Mark Miller
New York Times, August 10, 2025
The first six months of Donald Trump's second presidency have been the most "successful" of any American president since FDR according to an analysis conducted by Newsweek using AI.
By James Bickerton
Newsweek, July 19, 2025
From Social Security and the minimum wage to exit signs and fire escapes, Frances Perkins transformed how people in the U.S. lived and worked.
Interview with Kirstin Downey and Stephanie Dray
NPR, June 5, 2025
Former Associate Commissioner of the Social Security Administration James Roosevelt explains what can be done.
MSNBC, July 10, 2025
By Blake Gopnik
New York Times, May 29,2025
The New Deal and FDR’s Art of Fiscal Reimagining
Sometimes, albeit rarely, fiscal policy can give rise to something far greater than a spike in GDP, consumer confidence, or productivity, and there is no greater example than the New Deal.
By Cianan Sheekey
The Boar, July 17, 2025
FDR’s Granddaughter Contrasts two Presidents
In his first 100 days in office, my grandfather encouraged us to believe in ourselves, to trust and help our neighbors, and to put the country’s stability and well-being as a whole at the forefront.
The current administration has exhibited carelessness and cruelty to nearly everyone except billionaires.
By Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
New York Times, May 1, 2025
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"We are determined to make every American citizen the subject of his country’s interest and concern; and we will never regard any faithful law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous."
— President Franklin Roosevelt, Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1937
YOUR DONATIONS KEEP THE NEW DEAL SPIRIT ALIVE.
The Living New Deal thanks you for your generous support!
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