The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1]

For the twelfth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1911 and the massive fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The fire started on the 8th floor, spread to the 9th and 10th, and would lead to deaths of almost 150 people, mostly poor women who worked in the factory. This fire took place during an era of growing labor reform, and the tragedy — which took place with many of the city’s elite literally watching in person — galvanized calls for better workplace conditions. We get into the details of the fire, the strange political alliances that were forged during that time, and whether the era of reform in the 1910s and 1920s can signal anything about the moment we’re in right now. Join our America250 newsletter community !

You can listen to The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1] online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1] is an episode from This Day in Esoteric Political History by Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia.

This episode is 45:41 long.

This episode was published on Mar 24, 2026.

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