The Past, Present And Future Of American Beer

Enlarge this image toggle caption ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images

One hundred years ago this month, Congress enacted the Volstead Act — better known as the law that ushered in Prohibition.

The national ban on alcohol lasted from 1920 until 1933 — a so-called "noble experiment" that eventually collapsed as organized crime surged, and even the non-criminals began to willfully ignore it.

In this episode, we explored the history of alcohol in America with Theresa McCulla, the curator of the American Brewing History Initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

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