The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America

John Fabian Witt recounts how in the 1920s and 1930s Charles Garland donated his million-dollar inheritance to the American Fund for Public Service, or Garland Fund, to support progressive causes and organizations he believed could challenge inequality and reshape capitalism and democracy in America. Dr. Witt is a Professor of History and the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale University and author of The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America . Related Resources: The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America Related Collections: Brookwood Labor College Records (LR000567_BLC) John and Phyllis Collier Papers (LP000141) Richard W. and Constance Cowen Papers (LP000924) Henry Richardson Linville Papers (LP000373) UAW President’s Office: Walter P. Reuther Records (LR000261) Episode Credits Interviewee: John Fabian Witt Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

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The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America is an episode from Tales from the Reuther Library by Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

This episode is 57:31 long.

This episode was published on Feb 12, 2026.

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