Franklin Delano Roosevelt remains, over 80 years after his death, one of our most revered presidents. That is a state of affairs the historian David Beito would like to change. His new book, FDR: A New Political Life, seeks to puncture what David sees as Roosevelt’s over-inflated reputation. It’s an interpretation of one of the most consequential periods of American history that’s sure to provoke strong reactions among FDR’s fans, which is why I brought him on this show. (And if you’re interested in my thoughts on the book, you can read my review here.)
In our conversation, David makes the case against FDR. He argues that FDR’s handling of the crises he was elected and re-elected to manage—widespread unemployment, bank failures, the fallout from the 1929 stock market crash, the Dust Bowl, and World War II—was far less adept than his reputation would suggest. FDR’s use of domestic surveillance and his suppression of dissent, David says, have been unjustly written out of his legacy. Even FDR’s well-known failures—like his indifference to lynching in the South, his refusal of asylum to European Jews, and his internment of Japanese Americans—are relegated to mere footnotes in otherwise laudatory accounts of his presidency. Even successes like victory over the Axis powers come in for criticism, as David claims that FDR’s policy of “unconditional surrender” unnecessarily prolonged World War II.
I’m curious what all of you think about David’s case against FDR—drop a comment and let me know.
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0:00 Why another biography of FDR?
3:41 David’s dispute with the “heroic” view of FDR
5:56 David: “The main focus of FDR was FDR”
10:05 The surprising continuity between FDR’s and Hoover’s monetary policy
16:01 Canada’s avoidance of the banking crisis
19:50 FDR’s failed attempt to unilaterally set gold prices
26:14 Why did FDR intern Japanese Americans, despite his advisors’ opposition?
30:45 FDR’s apparent indifference to lynching
35:00 David: Roosevelt actively opposed Jewish refugees entering the US
41:42 The “unconditional surrender” policy’s negative consequences
47:31 Stalin’s victory at Yalta
51:28 How David thinks we should teach FDR and WWII history
53:54 David weighs in on Darryl Cooper
Recorded December 30, 2025
Links and Readings
David’s new book, FDR: A New Political Life
David’s book, The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance
Larry Kotlikoff’s book, Jimmy Stewart Is Dead: Ending the World’s Ongoing Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking
David S. Wyman’s book, The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945
