About this episode

This episode explores the life of Frances Perkins, the first woman Secretary of Labor, and her impact during the Great Depression.

This week, we explore the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and how in the midst of the Great Depression she helped reshape the nation by fighting for minimum wage, Social Security, and unemployment insurance. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Topics covered

• Frances Perkins
• Secretary of Labor
• Great Depression
• minimum wage
• Social Security
• unemployment insurance

Keywords

• Frances Perkins
• Secretary of Labor
• Great Depression
• minimum wage
• Social Security
• unemployment insurance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR

More episodes of Throughline

• The World Cup was supposed to bring world peace · June 4, 2026 · 52 min
• Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington · June 2, 2026 · 23 min
• History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation · May 28, 2026 · 47 min
• Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism · May 26, 2026 · 21 min
• Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback · May 21, 2026 · 52 min
• War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare · May 14, 2026 · 51 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Throughline podcast page.