Shows
Axelbank Reports History and Today#194: Richard Bell - "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World"It's almost the 250th anniversary of America's founding. Not only did the Revolution define the fate of the continent, Dr. Richard Bell argues it was a harbinger for the rest of the world. On this episode, we explore how he discovered that, and how that argument can shape our understanding of world events.From the publisher: In this revelatory and enthralling book, award-winning historian Richard Bell reveals the full breadth and depth of America’s founding event. The American Revolution was not only the colonies’ triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England; it was also a ca...
2026-01-0655 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#181: J. Randy Taraborrelli - "JFK: Public, Private, Secret"From the publisher:"In this definitive portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—one of America’s most consequential and enigmatic presidents—J. Randy Taraborrelli delivers a deeply researched and authoritative biography. More than the story of a presidency, this is an intimate study of a man whose public triumphs were shaped—and at times overshadowed—by the complex realities of his private life, from his legendary family to his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy. Drawing from hundreds of interviews conducted over twenty-five years—as well as candid, first-hand oral histories from the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library, rare internal...
2025-07-1556 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#180 - Fifth Anniversay Celebration with HW Brands - "A User's Guide to History"Happy fifth!! On this special edition of "Axelbank Reports History and Today," we are thrilled to chat with HW Brands to celebrate this show's fifth anniversary. Over the last five years, we have published 180 episodes and profiled books and authors of many stripes. We have done our best to make history relevant to today, and to give our listeners the information they need to get along in their communities and to make informed decisions about protecting American democracy. Thank you for being along for the ride! Professor Brands joined us to celebrate and to talk about his c...
2025-06-2455 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#167: Evan Friss - "The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore"If you've ever gone holiday shopping, you have probably gone into a bookshop to find the perfect gift for someone you care about. In this episode, we talk with Evan Friss about his astonishing history of how American bookstores were born, how they grew, and how they've at least tried to survive in a world where almost everything is done online. From chains to indies, he shows how bookstores became a critical place where ideas are exchanged, and how books themselves are marketed and consumed. From Ben Franklin to YOU, he shows how bookstores mark American progress....
2024-12-1041 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#157: Lindsay Chervinsky - "Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic"George Washington is often given the lionshare of the credit when it comes to establishing the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power in the United States. But in her new book, "Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic," Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky argues that the second president also deserves a healthy portion of credit. Adams understood that he could never measure up to Washington, but he did understand that a strong, democratic nation would depend on his ability to consider his country over his party. Dr. Chervinsky shows that while Adams made political mistakes...
2024-07-0259 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#155: Julie Satow - "When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion"At the dawn of the 20th Century, the center of city life could be found at department stores. One could find the latest fashion, meet friends for a cup of coffee, mail a letter, and escape the hustle of every day life. Julie Satow shows how three women made department stores not just the place to be, but into an engine of cultural change. She also explores how the women challenged gender norms to build high-flying businesses that would impact World War II, New York City, and the future of consumerism. Julie also shows how social media has changed...
2024-06-0448 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#147: Harold Holzer - "Brought Forth on This Continent"Abraham Lincoln is often thought of as the president who kept the union together, or who contributed the legal basis for slaves to be freed in states in rebellion, but Harold Holzer, one of America's renowned Lincoln scholars, explains how Lincoln harnessed the power of immigrants to make both achievements possible. Holzer's new book, "Brought Forth on this Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration," traces Lincoln's life from midwestern storekeeper, to Whig Party stalwart, to President. His view of immigrants shifted from indifferent to embracing, as he realized the source of renewal and strength they provide to America. While...
2024-02-1352 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#146: David Head & Timothy Hemmis - "A Republic of Scoundrels"The Founding Fathers are often thought of as the pathbreaking generation that fought with dignity, wrote with moral clarity, and bound the colonies together with one goal. Except, in their new edited collection, “A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers and Adventurers who Created a New American Nation,” historians David Head and Timothy Hemmis argue that's not what happened at all. They say that mixed in with those like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, are a batch of who are essentially anti-Founders, those who worked to stop the founding from succeeding at all. For every Founder who has...
2024-01-3048 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#120: Ed Achorn - "The Lincoln Miracle"Abraham Lincoln could never have become president if he didn't win over the stalwarts of his own party. But as the 1860 Republican convention neared, he was barely considered an also-ran. The conventional wisdom held that William H. Seward of Auburn, NY would become the nominee. But as big players in the new political party descended on Chicago, a bustling mid-western metropolis of business (and seedy behavior!), the brilliant political tactician unleashed a strategy that would not only make him the nominee, but would make him president during the most consequential period in American history. Achorn traces how Lincoln's right-hand-operatives...
2023-04-1146 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#115: Lindsay Chervinsky - Mourning the PresidentsWhen a president dies, it often feels as though a piece of the nation is gone with them. Americans are often witness to days of memorial services, eulogies, processions and burial ceremonies. But as Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Matthew Costello argue in their co-edited book, "Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture," the way a president is mourned immediately after their death often evolves as their legacy in both policy and personality become more fully understood. As society and scholarship change, so do the reputations of those who held the nation's highest office. On this episode...
2023-02-281h 01Axelbank Reports History and Today#109: Neal Gabler - "Against The Wind: Ted Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism"Biographer Neal Gabler argues Ted Kennedy's life can be divided into two sections. The first is when Kennedy catches the tide of liberalism and used that momentum to advance liberal policy goals. And the second is when he pushes against the prevailing feeling that the government should no longer protect the New Deal as stringently as before. Gabler argues that Kennedy, despite his well-known personal shortcomings, understood the dire needs of Americans who were less-well-off than he, and that his fights for gay marriage, universal health insurance and against the Iraq War were parts of his effort to protect...
2023-01-0358 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#100: A Celebration of HistoryWe made it to a hundred episodes! Our celebration features a discussion between four hobbyists who have taken their passion for history to a whole new level.Listen as host Evan Axelbank chats with Alicya Asai of the podcast "Civics and Coffee," Jeremy Anderberg of the newsletter "What to Read Next," and Steve Floyd of the website "Best Presidential Bios." We all explain why we love history and why we wanted to take our passion public!“Axelbank Reports History and Today” could not have made it to this milestone without our listeners, Patrons, guests and thei...
2022-10-111h 16Axelbank Reports History and Today#95: Eric Jay Dolin - "Rebels at Sea"In his book, "Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution," Dr. Eric Jay Dolin explains how a previously unheralded force, independent boat captains, played a crucial role in helping the colonists win the Revolutionary War. He explains how they captured British ships, upset shipping routes, upset their financial system and contributed to their weariness in fighting the patriots. He also shows how fighting at sea changed the dynamic of politics in the continental congress and why understanding maritime fighting is essential to analyzing American conflict. Dr. Dolin's passion for the environment shines through in his writing, and he...
2022-08-1651 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#94: Justin Tinsley - "It Was All a Dream"On all our gravestones, there will be a date of birth, a dash, and a date of death. The dash (-) will represent the entirety of our lives. In his new book, "It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World that Made Him," Justin Tinsley argues that the life of Notorious BIG is important for every American to understand because "the world that made him" is the one that made all of us, but especially young, Black men. How did an exuberant drug dealer go from navigating the streets of Brooklyn to the top of the charts with...
2022-08-091h 01Axelbank Reports History and Today#93: Natalie Jacobson - "Natalie Jacobson Reporting"Who ARE the newsmakers who we see on TV or the web? What makes them tick? Who are they when they aren't running for office, starring in Hollywood or battling criminals in court? In this episode, we talk with legendary Boston anchor Natalie Jacobson about the technique she used to document Boston's newsmakers over her four-decade career as a journalist. She explains how she realized that it was just as important to visit with political bigwigs in their homes as it was to cover their policy proposals. Her memoir also describes how she went from the daughter of an...
2022-08-0259 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#92: Daniel Levy - "Manhattan Phoenix"It has become cliche to say that the roots of modern New York City can be found in the 1970s. But in his book, "Manhattan Phoenix: The Great Fire of 1835 and the Emergence of Modern New York," Daniel Levy argues that the leveling of 700 buildings in lower Manhattan is truly the key moment. The fire devastated lower Manhattan, left thousands homeless or out of work and exposed several ways New York was being held back from becoming great. From improvements in firefighting to a public water system, Levy argues that the time period before the Civil War should be...
2022-07-1953 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#91: Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster - "Seen and Unseen"If George Floyd had been killed by police in almost any other era of American history, before we all carried high definition cameras in our pocket, there's a good chance the perpetrator would have escaped justice. In "Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media and the Fight for Racial Justice," BET news anchor Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and longtime reporter Todd Brewster explore how changing media has leveled the playing field between those who have power, and those who historically have not. During our discussion, we explored not only the life and death of George Floyd, but also how media...
2022-07-121h 01Axelbank Reports History and Today#90: Mark Arsenault - "The Imposter's War"During the 2016 presidential election, we got an up-close look at how a foreign nation can influence domestic politics. US intelligence has found that Russia worked to spread disinformation, poison social media and steal documents. But that was not the first time America has been manipulated by a foreign power. In the run up to World War I, Boston Globe "Spotlight" reporter Mark Arsenault explains how a reporter for a small newspaper broke numerous stories about supposed German efforts to meddle in American affairs. What readers didn't know is that Great Britain intelligence agents had planted the stories w...
2022-07-0557 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#89: Philip Dray - "A Lynching at Port Jervis"Lynching is often and understandably thought of as a southern problem. But Philip Dray's new book, "A Lynching at Port Jervis: Race and Reckoning in the Gilded Age," explores the only lynching that occurred in New York State between 1882 and 1899. He explains why northerners must come to grips with not only the violent incident that happened in the "idyllic" Delaware Water Gap village of Port Jervis, but with the racism that permeated many of the states that were first to outlaw slavery. He explores what happened on June 2nd, 1892, and how the justice system reacted to it. He also...
2022-06-2151 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#88: A.J. Baime - "White Lies"What does it mean to be white in America? What does it mean to be Black? Is it merely the color of our skin? How does the history of how different races have been treated by the law and by fellow Americans weigh on those labels? What would it be like to straddle both worlds? In "White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America's Darkest Secret," AJ Baime explains how an African-American man who looked white infiltrated the south to investigate lynchings and write reports for the NAACP. Baime explains how Walter White exposed...
2022-06-1453 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#87: Kate Clifford Larson - "Walk with Me"Where do rights come from? Do they come from the Constitution? The Supreme Court? From God? The voting booth?Bestselling author Dr. Kate Clifford Larson argues in her biography of Fannie Lou Hamer that rights also come from those willing to fight for them, from heroes who risk their lives while demanding the full promise of what America offers. Hamer was born a Mississippi sharecropper who would insist on the right to vote, speak at public hearings and - at times - face violence for her efforts. Dr. Larson traces the roots of Hamer's bravery, her beliefs...
2022-06-0743 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#86: Edward Renehan - "Deliberate Evil"Before the phrase, "the trial of the century," became a cliche, there was New England slave trader Joseph White and the greatest whodunit of the 19th Century. The wealthy, powerful and supremely disliked shipping magnate had apparently swam with too many sharks to escape justice forever. But who would go into a man's bedroom and kill him in his sleep? Edward Renehan's book, "Deliberate Evil: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Daniel Webster, and the 1830 Murder of a Salem Slave Trader," shows how the murder drew titans of history into what was already a famous, albeit small, town. He also explains how the...
2022-05-2451 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#85: Richard Cohen - "Making History""To study history, you must study the historian."Are the writers who make history also a part of history? Are the stories they tell what actually happened, or have we all been had? What motivates a historian to practice her craft? In "Making History: Storytellers Who Shaped the Past," veteran writer and publisher Richard Cohen explains how the earliest historians built their narratives and distributed their work. He goes era by era, highlighting the most impactful non-fiction writers of all time like Thucydides, the authors of the Bible, Shakespeare, Julius Caesar and Ulysses Grant.
2022-05-171h 03Axelbank Reports History and Today#84: J.D. Dickey - "The Republic of Violence"The end of slavery came thanks - in part - to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. At the Civil War's conclusion, the abolitionist movement had finally achieved its most sacred goal. But in, "The Republic of Violence: The Tormented Rise of Abolition in Andrew Jackson's America," JD Dickey argues that movement gained momentum decades before, during the 1830s, as abolitionists were violently confronted by the pro-slavery movement. In both north and south, Dickey argues white supremacists stopped at nothing to prevent abolitionists from having their voices heard. He catalogues America's most violent period, with r...
2022-05-0355 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#83: A.K. Fielding - "Rough Diamond"In "Rough Diamond: The Life of Col. William Stephen Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's Forgotten Son," A.K. Fielding explains why understanding his life is essential to understanding the first half of the nineteenth century. Though his dad gets the attention for being one of the most famous and influential people in American history, Fielding argues that by understanding the relatively "average" life of Hamilton's sixth child, we are able to grapple with migration patterns, the impact of the powerful on the powerless, the economy, and even how political forces changed between the Founding generation and the decade before the Civil...
2022-04-191h 01Axelbank Reports History and Today#82: Jeffrey Frank - "The Trials of Harry S. Truman"Harry Truman took over the presidency during a sea-change in American history. Along with becoming the first nuclear power, the US was about to begin a massive relief effort in Europe and grapple with racial injustice. Though he left office with low marks, during the last several decades, Truman's handling of the many crises he inherited has been applauded more loudly. Jeffrey Frank's new book, "The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of an Ordinary Man," explains how a seemingly simple midwesterner went from growing up on a farm to become president of the United States at...
2022-04-1253 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#81: Amanda Frost - "You Are Not American"There are few scenes as emotional as when someone gains their citizenship. They often take place after long, painful journeys that determine whether someone has a right to hold a job, live near family or vote. But as Professor Amanda Frost explains, it is emotional for an entirely different reason when someone loses their citizenship, or as she puts it, has their citizenship, "stripped.” She argues that it happens much more often than people realize, and documents in her book, "You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers," that the fight to regain it is cr...
2022-04-0556 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#80: William Hazelgrove - "One Hundred and Sixty Minutes"The story of the most famous shipwreck in history, the Titanic, is not complete without Bill Hazelgrove's book, "One Hundred and Sixty Minutes: The Race to Save the RMS Titanic." The basics of the crash into the iceberg are well known. The heart-wrenching details of the half-full lifeboats and the frigid waters are enough to make anyone feel for the victims and their families. But Hazelgrove explains how they all could have been saved, and the missteps that led the nearby boats to shy away from getting involved to save the doomed passengers. He also explains what a certain...
2022-03-291h 00Axelbank Reports History and Today#79: Neil Lanctot - "The Approaching Storm"To understand how America became involved in World War I, we have to transport ourselves to a different America. Troops had never been sent overseas, progressivism was the primary political force and three presidents were battling to chart the nation's future. In Neil Lanctot's new book, "The Approaching Storm: Roosevelt, Wilson, Addams and their Clash Over America's Future," he explains how the life of Jane Addams intersected with that of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to bring the country's mindset from isolationist to interventionist. The decisions made during the run-up to American involvement in "The Great War," would pave...
2022-03-1557 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#78: Blake Scott Ball - "Charlie Brown's America"What stories can comic strips tell in a way that nothing else can? Dr. Blake Scott Ball explains in his book, "Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts," how Charles Schultz famed comic strip not only reached Americans in a way few others have, but also told the country's story when his readers were least expecting it. Dr. Ball argues Schultz used Charlie Brown as a vehicle to take on the most sensitive topics of the second half of the twentieth century. From race, poverty, disease, war and mental health, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Franklin were always...
2022-03-081h 00Axelbank Reports History and Today#77: Meriel Schindler - "The Lost Cafe Schindler"Tall tales are nothing new when it comes to family "history." Meriel Schindler's new book, "The Lost Cafe Schindler: One Family, Two Wars, and the Search for Truth," is her effort to determine the veracity of her dad's claims about their ancestors. Were the Schindlers really related to famed-Nazi foiler Oscar Schindler and a host of other artists, doctors and important people in western Europe? She focuses on a cafe her family owned in WWI-era Austria and finds it was the center of life in a lovely town before it was stolen from them. She uses a treasure trove...
2022-03-0149 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#76: Megan Kate Nelson - "Saving Yellowstone"If you've been there, you'll never forget it. If you haven't, you probably want to go. But what makes Yellowstone National Park a destination in the first place? Dr. Megan Kate Nelson explores how one of America's crown jewels, the two million acres that make up the one-of-a-kind place, was preserved for all of us. In her new book, "Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America," she explains how the array of trees, geysers and animals was "discovered" by white men, and how the effort to keep Yellowstone as-is, intersects with Reconstruction-era politics, race and mystery. Contemporary Americans...
2022-02-221h 00Axelbank Reports History and Today#75: Andrew Roberts - "The Last King of America"With his shining red, white and gold getup, The King walks on stage and sings a rhyming but pathetic number about how the American colonies just don't realize how good they have it living as subjects of Great Britain. "You'll be back, soon you'll see, you'll remember you belong to me... you'll remember that I served you well." The audience of the show, "Hamilton," is left with the impression that King George III was a misinformed, bumbling, bozo of a king, who passively let anti-crown sentiment bubble up to the point of no return. But in...
2022-02-0147 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#74: Warren Milteer - "Beyond Slavery's Shadow"For this episode, lets look at slavery in another way. While we rightfully spend a lot of time on this show grappling with the impact of slavery both on the enslaved and on our society today, this week's show explores what it was like to be a free person of color in the South. Dr. Warren Milteer's book, "Beyond Slavery's Shadow: Free People of Color in the South," explains what it was like to live adjacent to those in bondage. He explains the threats they were under, how southern Blacks were used as political pawns, and how some cultivated...
2022-01-2551 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#73: Kyle Harper - "Plagues Upon the Earth"For the last two years, we have gotten a lesson in how our world can be shaped by a disease. COVID-19 has changed our families, the economy, our social interaction and our psychology. Far from being a unique historical phenomenon, Dr. Kyle Harper argues disease and our efforts to steer clear of them are the central forces that have always shaped human history. He explains how diseases have defined our history, and until relatively recently, they were almost always able to overcome what people threw at them. He also explains how technology and disease work hand-in-hand to usher in a...
2022-01-1849 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#72: Michael Holzman - "Spies and Traitors"Who hasn't seen a spy movie that features a double agent who played their role so perfectly, even his best friends didn't know who he was working for? This is the real life story of how an MI6 agent played the role to a T.Kim Philby was an MI6 agent during World War II, who took a young American, Jim Angleton, under his wing. Their friendship may have been real, but Philby's life was a sham. Michael Holzman's book, "Spies and Traitors: Kim Philby, James Angleton and the Friendship and Betrayal That Would Shape M...
2022-01-1145 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#71: Leah Price - "What We Talk About When We Talk About Books"When we pick up a book, what exactly are we holding? Is it a living document or etched in stone? How closely do the words on the page mirror what is in the author's head? Why have they lasted so long, and how much longer WILL they last? Dr. Leah Price is a book historian and on this episode, she answers those questions, and wrestles with whether an audiobook or a digital file can be considered a book. Where did books come from, and why have they always been so satisfying to talk about? Dr. Price argues they are...
2022-01-0450 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#70: Peter Coleman - "The Way Out"Are you excited for big holiday gatherings where lots of politics are being discussed? No? Well Dr. Peter Coleman of Columbia University has just the solution for ending our polarized political culture, both at home and in the real world. His book, "The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization," offers numerous ways to approach our daily lives, the news, social media and our relationships to tone down the emotion and boost the parts of our brain that foster logical thinking. He also explains why we stick with the sides we like, and are seldom able to see another...
2021-12-1450 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#69: Peter Bergen - "The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden"Twenty years after the worst terrorist attacks in US history, we speak with Peter Bergen, one of the foremost authorities on the threat the United States faces from fundamentalists. Bergen is a journalist for CNN who has interviewed Osama bin Laden and has now written a biography that catalogues "The Rise and Fall" of the terrorist who spearheaded the 9/11 attacks. Bergen argues that bin Laden's turn to terrorism was not pre-ordained, and that key events like the death of his father and the opportunity to wage war against the Soviets drove the rigorous practitioner of Islam to adopt violence...
2021-12-0758 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#68: Amy Argetsinger - "There She Was"A bunch of women line up wearing next-to-nothing in hopes of impressing a batch of strangers who are grading them on everything from the way they look to the way they think. The woman with the highest score gets to be called, "Miss America," and wears a crown - and the title - for the rest of her life. The history behind that process, and how it became a cultural icon is as fascinating as it is filled with twists and turns. In this episode, Amy Argetsinger from the Washington Post drops by to chat about her new book, "...
2021-11-3050 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#67: Patrick Lacroix - "JFK and the Politics of Faith"Will an American president take orders from the Pope? As the devoutly catholic Joe Biden ran for president, he faced no such question. But sixty years before, when John F. Kennedy was running, it was not only a question, but a controversy. Listen to our episode with historian of religion in America, Dr. Patrick Lacroix, as he explains how JFK not only grappled with how to handle the question, but how his presidency helped quell those questions once and for all, at least for catholics. He also explains JFK's religious influences and gauges whether his lifestyle matched with religious...
2021-11-231h 02Axelbank Reports History and Today#66: Hadassah Lieberman - "Hadassah: An American Story"That she came to within 537 votes of becoming Second Lady of the United States has been well documented, but Hadassah Lieberman says it's time for her to tell the story of the rest of her life. Listen in as she explains what it was like to be born into a family of those who survived the Holocaust, and those who did not. After immigrating to the United States when she was under a year old, the awful events of the 1940s gave way to a lifetime of hard work and of hope that those who come to America will...
2021-11-1654 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#65: Robert Levine - "The Failed Promise"There are few periods in American history that offered more hope than Reconstruction. There are also few periods that left behind such devastation. On this episode, we talk with University of Maryland Distinguished Professor Dr. Robert Levine about his book, "The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson." He explains how Andrew Johnson went from a figure of hope to a villain of America's attempt at a rebirth. Dr. Levine explains how his roots as a poor southern racist - who happened to speak out against slavery - led him to become Abraham Lincoln's successor...
2021-11-0956 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#64: Joseph J. Ellis - "The Cause"One of America's most prominent historians, Joseph J. Ellis, joins us to discuss his new book, "The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents." The author of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning, "Founding Brothers," focuses this time on how the Revolution was viewed by Black Americans, slaves, Natives and women as the colonists waged war in hopes of scurrying the British out of America. Is America's dual failure to banish slavery and find peace with Native Americans a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearean one? In other words, would better leadership have led to different outcomes?He also discusses if t...
2021-11-021h 00Axelbank Reports History and Today#63: Rebecca DeWolf - "Gendered Citizenship"When women got the right to vote in 1920, the hope was that equal rights would be a natural byproduct. But in her book, "Gendered Citizenship: The Original Conflict over the Equal Rights Amendment, 1920-1963," Dr. Rebecca DeWolf explains how the ensuing fight for the Equal Rights Amendment left advocates frustrated, and women still clamoring for the right to earn a living, live independently, own a home and achieve political power. She explains how the first battles were waged through the court system, political process and in public opinion. How did those resisting the ERA find success, in the face...
2021-10-2652 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#62: Joshua Scacco - "The Ubiquitous Presidency"Hardly a day goes by when the President of the United States isn't a topic of conversation. From TV and Twitter to baseball games and surprise breakfast stops, the person sitting in the nation's highest office has the power to get attention almost no matter what they're doing. And increasingly so, they have made an effort to use their platform to drive politics, policy and power in the United States. In their book, "The Ubiquitous Presidency: Presidential Communication and Digital Democracy in Tumultuous Times," Drs. Joshua Scacco and Kevin Coe trace the history of the presidential platform, and how...
2021-10-1950 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#61: Michael Bender - "Frankly, We Did Win This Election"The President of the United States had been preparing for the moment for months, to claim he had won an election he actually lost. Early in the morning of November 4th, Donald Trump took to the TV cameras at the White House and said that despite early projections that Joe Biden had a chance to pull ahead in key states, he had indeed won reelection. With the now-famous phrase, "Frankly, we did win this election," Trump became the first president in history to claim that he had been victimized by fraudulent votes and tabulations. As soon as Wall Street...
2021-10-1256 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#60: Claude Clegg - "The Black President"How did Barack Obama shatter the quintessential barrier in American politics? Once he became the first Black president, did he help lower racial animosity, or did his presence incite an even-worse divide?In his new book, "The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama," Dr. Claude Clegg explores how the 44th president left his mark on those of different races, along with the obstacles that sprouted to block his path. He is the only American president who could have created certain moments of healing, like when a young boy felt the president's h...
2021-10-051h 08Axelbank Reports History and Today#59: Amy Russo - "Women of the White House"Listen as we tag along with Providence Journal reporter Amy Russo as she takes us on a history of America's First Ladies, as told in her book, "Women of the White House: The Illustrated Story of the First Ladies of the United States of America." She explains how visual representations have become so important in how we understand our first families, and how vital the role of First Lady has been to the presidency and American culture. She also explains how the role has taken on added meaning given Dr. Jill Biden is the first to carry a full...
2021-09-2149 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#58: Robert Strauss - "John Marshall: The Final Founder"On this episode, we talk with longtime writer, journalist and professor Robert Strauss about his new book, "John Marshall: The Final Founder." Strauss argues that America's fourth chief justice, John Marshall, deserves to be on a short list with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as the nation's most important founders. Strauss explains how Marshall made the Federal court system worthwhile, and how the Founding Era wasn't over until Marshall's imprint was felt everywhere. Strauss also uses Marshall's life to explore how history is passed down, and how we can consume it to make our nation stronger. Strauss says Marshall...
2021-09-1456 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#57: Ken Ellingwood - "First to Fall"We are back!Enjoy our first episode of the Fall as we talk with longtime journalist Ken Ellingwood about his new book, "First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery." Lovejoy was an ardent abolitionist who used his mighty pen to demand an end to America's "original sin." Elllingwood's biography brings Lovejoy scholarship into the modern era with a vivid description of how Lovejoy, an up-and-coming newspaper publisher in the 1830s, battled terrorists who not only made him a target, but his sacred printing press. Indeed, he...
2021-09-0758 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#56: Edward Achorn - "The Summer of Beer and Whiskey"What's better than having a beer at a ballpark on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? Check out this episode with Pulitzer Prize Finalist Edward Achorn, as he explains the life of Chris von Der Ahe, the baseball owner who made that feeling possible. Achorn's book, "The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game," explains how the summer of 1883 became the pivotal one in baseball history. Beforehand, he says baseball was a highbrow, humble and subdued affair. But after Chris von Der Ahe bought the St. Louis Browns, and...
2021-07-0650 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#55: Kate Masur - "Until Justice Be Done"We are all familiar with images of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s: fire hoses, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, of Martin Luther King exclaiming, "I have a dream." Ultimately, that Civil Rights Movement led to advances like the order to desegregate schools, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. But that was not the first time Black Americans demanded equality.Dr. Kate Masur's book, "Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, From the Revolution to Reconstruction," explains how movements started to demand the end of Ohio's Black Codes, to reform voting rights a...
2021-06-2953 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#54: Thomas Dyja: "New York, New York, New York"New York is so nice, they named it twice. So why did Thomas Dyja give the title of his forty-year history of the Big Apple THREE “New Yorks? “On this episode, he takes us on a journey through the last forty years of NYC's triumphs, troubles, discord and devastation. Starting in the fires of the late 1970s, he explains how Ed Koch's "I love New York" became a mantra the city eventually lived up to. He explores how both racial discord and dropping crime under David Dinkins fueled Rudy Giuliani's administration and completed New York's epic...
2021-06-2254 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#53: Heather Cox Richardson - "Letters From an American"On this episode, we talk with Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, the author of the wildly popular "Letters from an American: A Newsletter About the History Behind Today's Politics," which is seen by over a million people every night. We not only discuss history, but why it is important to be historically literate as we try to understand what has become a firehose of news. She explains how she writes her daily "Letters" and why the project has gone on for much longer than she first predicted. Dr. Richardson explains why she believes understanding the history of American democracy is...
2021-06-151h 03Axelbank Reports History and Today#52: Michael Burlingame - "An American Marriage"Presidential marriages are subjects of intense fascination. How do they impact political history? Government policy? Is a scandal brewing? When it comes to Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd, Dr. Michael Burlingame - one of America's most prolific Lincoln scholars - argues their marriage is ripe for answers to all three questions. Listen as we discuss his new book, "An American Marriage: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd," and how their relationship changed both people, as well as how it shaped American history. Burlingame describes both characters at being inept at love, but for different r...
2021-06-0859 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#51: Serena Zabin - "The Boston Massacre"On this episode, we talk with Dr. Serena Zabin about her groundbreaking book, "The Boston Massacre: A Family History." She explains why we have misunderstood the landmark event in America's founding as a battle between two sides. Rather, she argues, the Boston Massacre was an intimate moment among members of a community. Revolutionary-era Boston was a place where intermingling was unavoidable and where colonists, British soldiers and the enslaved were swept into a tide of events that led to commotion, and ultimately, death. She also helps us explore how Paul Revere made sure to use the media to stoke...
2021-06-0153 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#50: Zachary Schrag - "The Fires of Philadelphia"Philadelphia is where America made its sacred pledge that "all men are created equal." Though there are many ways that pledge has not been fulfilled, one of the most striking came in Philadelphia, seventy years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Dr. Zachary Schrag's book, "The Fires of Philadelphia: Citizen-Soldiers, Nativists, and the 1844 Riots Over the Soul of the Nation" explains how the city containing Independence Hall became a hotbed of ethnic violence. Nativists did everything they could to run Catholics out of the city. The age-old question, "What does it mean to be an American" was at...
2021-05-2552 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#49: Vincent DiGirolamo - "Crying the News"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!! Baruch professor Dr. Vincent DiGirolamo is here to talk about his fascinating book, "Crying the News: A History of America's Newsboys." He explains how they became an integral part of American life, journalism and of the history of labor. The boys had to be industrious and competitive, eager but wary of those hoping to abuse them. They slept in newspaper offices, battled for turf and even blazed a trail for those hoping to make more money for their hard work. Though their reign has largely come to an end, Dr. DiGirolamo argues their...
2021-05-1846 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#48: Paul Kendrick - "Nine Days"Martin Luther King Jr. was sitting in jail, and the presidential campaigns of John Kennedy and Richard Nixon had no idea what - if anything - to do about it. Paul and Stephen Kendrick's new book, "Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr's Life and Win the 1960 Election," explains how that moment became a watershed. Black voters in southern states had voted Republican, and Richard Nixon boasted of the better connection with some of the most prominent African Americans in the country. But the Kennedy campaign understood that the working class appeal of the Democratic Party...
2021-05-1159 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#47: Glenn Stout - "Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid"They were "Bonnie and Clyde" before Bonnie and Clyde was a thing.We talk with prolific author Glenn Stout about his new book, "Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America's Original Gangster Couple. Richard and Margaret Whittemore came of age as jazz was taking over America, and they set themselves on taking diamonds. Stout explains how pop culture of the Roaring 20s created the Whittmore's organized crime ring, and how the young lovers then became part of that very culture. His beautiful and fast-paced book describes how Richard became infatuated with crime, and how Margaret became infatuated...
2021-05-0445 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#46: Annette Gordon-Reed - "On Juneteenth"For this week's episode, we are delighted to welcome one of America's most important scholars, Annette Gordon-Reed. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "The Hemingses of Monticello," explores the lives of Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and how their secret union defines America.We spoke with the professor about her new book, "On Juneteenth," which is a reflection on her upbringing in Texas and how the sacred holiday was first celebrated in Galveston. From the moment on June 19th, 1865, when slavery was announced as extinct - to both cheers and disgust - Professor Gordon-Reed takes us on a journey through...
2021-04-2747 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#45: Dov Waxman - "Trouble in the Tribe"In his book, "Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel," Dr. Dov Waxman explains how criticizing Israel is no longer the third rail of being an American Jew. At one time, criticizing Israel was off limits, seen as essential to preserving the nation that was seen as a refuge for a group of people who were perennially under siege. Today, there is no conflict that divides American Jews more than Israel itself, and perhaps no bigger foreign policy debate in the United States. Professor Waxman explains how and why attitudes towards Israel shifted among American Jews...
2021-04-2051 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#44: Megan Kate Nelson - "The Three Cornered War"Learn about the Civil War from a whole new perspective. Dr. Megan Kate Nelson explains why you can't fully understand America's pivotal moment without grasping the role the West played in both the Union and Confederate sides. Her book, "The Three Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West," explores how the West became critical not only in the strategy of the war, but in the imagination of Washington and Richmond. She describes how Native peoples, Mexicans, anglos and African Americans collided on lands that now make up Texas, New Mexico, Colorado...
2021-04-1358 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#43: Jamal Greene - "How Rights Went Wrong"We talk with Jamal Greene about his book, "How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart." He explains how courts have allowed disputes over rights to become zero-sum games that make future compromise impossible. Because of poorly-reasoned court decisions, where the content of the dispute is ignored in favor of literal readings of law, Professor Greene argues fights over abortion, education, homosexuality and guns have left each side to consider the other unworthy of existence. Whether its freedom of speech on campus or the right to purchase a cake for an LGBT wedding...
2021-04-0654 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#42: Jonathan Cohn - "The Ten Year War: Obamacare"Obamacare was THE political war of the last generation. Huffington Post reporter and longtime health care journalist Jonathan Cohn explains why that war happened and how it tore our nation apart. His new book, "The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage," explains how then-President Obama decided to go for it, and how the opposition to it coalesced. But was it centered on dislike of the law, or dislike for the driving force behind it? Barack Obama wound up accepting the moniker "Obamacare" as if to turn the fight over it on its head, and...
2021-03-301h 00Axelbank Reports History and Today#41: David Head - "A Crisis of Peace"We talk with Dr. David Head about his book, "A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution." Much like today, Revolutionary America was awash in conspiracy theories. As the War came to an end, fears of a coup rose as soldiers upset over their lack of pay seemed to be on the verge of taking drastic action. Head describes how Washington's masterful political skills calmed tensions and helped avoid a disastrous rift between the rank-and-file and top officers. Head has his own perspective on whether there actually WAS a conspiracy, but...
2021-03-2356 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#40: Julia Cooke - "Come Fly the World"Come on an adventure! We talk with author Julia Cooke about her book, "Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am." She describes the lives of stewardesses - to use the vernacular of the day - as they embark on a career that gave them limitless opportunity to see the world. But they also endure endless sexism and are well aware that their opportunities will be limited to the role they signed on for. They become symbolic of the airline itself as they take part in the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War and the...
2021-03-1648 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#39: Eric Rauchway - "Winter War"We speak with Dr. Eric Rauchway about his book, "Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt and the First Clash Over the New Deal." American history is filled with turning points: Obama to Trump, Clinton to Bush, Carter to Reagan, Eisenhower to Kennedy. But Rauchway argues few compare to the transition from Hoover to FDR. In 1932, America was embroiled in the Great Depression and watching the rise of fascism abroad. After Hoover became a Lame Duck, Rauchway argues the outgoing president did his best to fend off what he predicted would be an assault on conservatism. FDR not only succeeds in laying...
2021-03-091h 01Axelbank Reports History and Today#38: Cathryn Prince - "Queen of the Mountaineers"In this episode, we talk with Cathryn Prince, the author of, "Queen of the Mountaineers: The Trailblazing Life of Fanny Bullock Workman." Workman was a record-setting mountain-climber who set records as well as she advocated for women's rights. She became famous for her rivalry with a fellow female climber, and for advocating for the right to vote. Prince explains how the feminist spent her life learning to climb mountains in less-than-ideal situations... and outfits! Born in the late 1850s, she did not have North Face jackets and industrialized climbing clips to help pave the way. She details Workman's near-death e...
2021-03-0242 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#37: Kyle Riismandel - "Neighborhood of Fear"We speak with Dr. Kyle Riismandel about his book, "Neighborhood of Fear: The Suburban Crisis in American Culture, 1975-2001." Suburbia is billed as the safe, quiet place to raise a family. But the New Jersey Institute of Technology profess argues that during the 70s and 80s, they became rife with social disfunction. Fear was the dominant factor as relatively wealthy neighborhoods wielded political power to try to maintain safety residents had been seeking. As fear of kidnappings, shootings, teenagers and drugs overwhelmed tree-lined streets and comfortable homes, suburbia became an unwittingly dangerous place. He also explains how suburbia's strength i...
2021-02-2346 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#36: Wendy Lower - "The Ravine"We speak with Dr. Wendy Lower about her new book, "The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed." She explains how she found the rare photograph of a Jewish family in the act of being killed during the Holocaust, and how she tried to track down everyone and everything captured in the scene. Most don't realize that while photo documentation of what happened in the Holocaust is extensive - especially upon liberation of the death camps - there are very few photos of the awful deeds taking place. That was by design, as Hitler's army knew photos...
2021-02-1656 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#35: William Sturkey - "Hattiesburg"We talk with Dr. William Sturkey about his incredible study, "Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White." His book explores how the history of Hattiesburg, MS, is critical to understanding America's history of racism and white supremacy. He also explains how conflict and reconciliation in Hattiesburg foreshadowed today's battle for racial justice. Hattiesburg was founded as Reconstruction is failing, and becomes a place where whites and Blacks collide in the push and pull over the right to live safely and prosperously. He describes why Hattiesburg never attained the same prominence of other small cities in the south, like...
2021-02-0949 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#34: Jennifer Armstrong - "Seinfeldia"We promise this won't be a podcast about nothing!Join us, as we talk with Jennifer Armstrong, the author of the New York Times Bestseller, "Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything." Jennifer explains how Jerry Seinfeld created "Seinfeld," and how the brilliant Larry David created a world inside of a world inside of a world! She explains why "Seinfeldia" is actually a place, a place where we can explore the "gaps in society," as Seinfeld once put it. How much do you tip a chambermaid? Who withdraws from a mutually agreed upon party if there's...
2021-02-0255 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#33: Richard Bell - "Stolen"We talk with Richard Bell about his prizewinning book, "Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home." It explains how five boys in Philadelphia were abducted by slave smugglers and taken to the Deep South, away from their families, and forced into slavery. Bell writes not only about their horrific journey, but about how they were the lucky few who ever made it back to freedom. Their families and their community never stopped thinking about and fighting for them, while their case became a flashpoint for further division in America's violent and heartbreaking path to...
2021-01-2648 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#32: Kate Andersen Brower - "The Residence"As America watches the inauguration of the 46th president, we talk with presidential historian Kate Anderson Brower about her book, "The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House." After Donald Trump vacates the White House, but before the Bidens arrive, an incredible symphony will be going on in the West Wing. Members of the permanent White House staff will be removing the Trumps' belongings and installing the Bidens' personal effects. Everything from the Oval Office to the president's bedroom will be outfitted to the exact specifications of Joe and Jill Biden, from pens to toothbrushes. Her book...
2021-01-1945 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#31: Edward Achorn - "Every Drop of Blood"We talk with Pulitzer Prize finalist Edward Achorn about his book, "Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln." He explains how Lincoln sought to bind the nation's wounds after the bloodiest years in its history. Lincoln's unique ability to understand both politics and public sentiment allowed him to write and deliver one of the greatest speeches in American history. Not only did Lincoln use beautiful language, but he made it clear that the war had been fought over slavery. Yet he didn't "spike the football" in a way that would make it more difficult to...
2021-01-1252 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#30: Matthew Algeo - "The President is a Sick ManWe talk with noted author Matthew Algeo about his book, "The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives A Secret Surgery At Sea and Villifies The Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth." In what has to be considered one of the biggest scandals in presidential history, Grover Cleveland and a batch of physicians stole away from the White House and boarded a yacht, where the president then endured a surgery to remove cancer from the roof of his mouth. The cigar-chomping, former Buffalo pub-hound then ordered the surgery hidden from the public to...
2021-01-0543 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#29: Harold Holzer - "The Presidents vs. The Press"One of America's most formidable historians, Harold Holzer, discusses his newest book, "The Presidents vs. The Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media, from the Founding Fathers to Fake News." He explains how presidents from Washington to Trump have not only been disappointed in the coverage they get, but in how they tried to squash stories they didn't like. He explains how even America's greatest presidents went out of their way to discredit and even suppress fair coverage, and also how the media fought back, and at times, beat presidential corruption. Holzer's specialty is Lincoln...
2020-12-2959 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#28: A'Lelia Bundles - "On Her Own Ground"We talk with A'Lelia Bundles, the author of, "On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam CJ Walker." Her biography of her own great-great grandmother explains how Madam CJ Walker became the first female self-made millionaire in the United States. Battling both racism and sexism, Walker became a giant of American business through her perseverance and ingenuity. Bundles explains how Walker, a daughter of slaves, became a genius of marketing, while also protesting across the country for social justice. Bundles also explains why she felt called to write this book, which has been made into a Netflix...
2020-12-2242 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#27: Neal Gabler - "Catching the Wind"We talk with Neal Gabler about his book, "Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975." Neal explains how Ted Kennedy's beginnings were different from his famed brothers, partly because their personalities were different, but also because they grew up during different times altogether. He explains how one of the most effective and longest-serving senators of all time started in politics, but also how the politics of the moment shaped him. In this first of two volumes, Gabler describes how Kennedy "rode the wind" of an America dominated by liberal political thought. Kennedy's efforts were shaped by...
2020-12-151h 07Axelbank Reports History and Today#26: Catherine Grace Katz - "The Daughters of Yalta"We talk with counterintelligence expert Catherine Grace Katz about her book, "The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War." She explains how what some call, "The Most Important Meeting of All Time," featured not just Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, but also the daughters of FDR, Churchill and Averell Harriman. They brought them to Crimea not for sightseeing, but for their expertise and companionship. Katz explains how the three accomplished women were indispensable to their fathers, and thus, to world history. She says it's time for all of us to...
2020-12-0850 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#25: Jonathan Alter - "His Very Best"We talk with prominent historian and political commentator Jonathan Alter about his new biography of Jimmy Carter, "His Very Best." Alter explains why it's time to reassess Carter's presidency, in that it's political difficulties should not mar its long-term policy gains. From the 1978 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, to the environment, to human rights to normalizing relations with China, Alter argues that the caricature of Carter as a failure is too simple. Alter also describes how the 39th president revolutionized the office, both by elevating the role of First Lady to policy advisor, and by giving the vice president a role...
2020-12-011h 07Axelbank Reports History and Today#24: Erika Lee - "America for Americans"We talk with Dr. Erika Lee about her book, "America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States." Some say America is a place for anyone and everyone. We learn in elementary school that America was started by people seeking a new life, where they could have religious freedom, that it is a place that accepts, "poor, huddled masses."But at the same time, there is talk of border security, of legal immigrants, of undocumented immigrants, of which countries we should accept immigrants from. Along with talk, there are also actions. Over the course of...
2020-11-241h 09Axelbank Reports History and Today#23: David Maraniss - "Barack Obama: The Story"This episode is the perfect companion to Barack Obama's new autobiography, "A Promised Land." We talk with one of America's greatest writers, David Maraniss, about his stunning biography of Barack Obama. "The Story," explores not only Obama's early years, but his background that makes him the quintessential American. Maraniss argues that Obama's upbringing left him yearning for stability and for an answer to the question: Who am I? His biography traces both sides of Obama's family. How did a suicide in a Topeka garage lead the Dunhams on a westward journey that would eventually take th...
2020-11-161h 02Axelbank Reports History and Today#22: Wayne Coffey - "They Said It Couldn't Be Done"We talk with prolific sportswriter Wayne Coffey about his book, "They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History." The longtime New York Daily News writer explains how the Mets shocked the world during a time of social upheaval and scientific discovery. The Mets went from worst-to-first just as the United States blasted off for the moon and found itself buried in the quagmire of Vietnam. Their hometown was going through tremendous difficulties as well, which is why it was the perfect time for the loveable losers to...
2020-11-1048 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#21: Matt Grossmann - Election AnalysisIn this episode, we talk with Dr. Matt Grossmann, the author of, "Red State Blues: How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States." He is a political scientist and contributor to fivethirtyeight.com, so he is perfect to dissect the results of the presidential election and our increasingly fractured and contentious political landscape. What is causing our divisions? Why do things feel so hopeless? What are the impacts of our increased polarization and second-by-second media environment? Why is counting the votes taking so long? Is it healthy for supporters of both major parties to walk away unsatisfied?...
2020-11-0533 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#20: Jeremi Suri - "The Impossible Presidency"On the sixth and final episode in our series on the presidency, University of Texas professor Dr. Jeremi Suri discusses his book, "The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office." He explains how the position was created, and how early occupants unwittingly set precedents that would lead to the job of president becoming too big to succeed. He explains how the slew of presidential responsibilities, from domestic and foreign policy, the economy, acting as the head of party, the voice of the people and the commander-in-chief of a gigantic military has weighed down presidents to the...
2020-10-2741 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#19: A.J. Baime - "Dewey Defeats Truman"Our fifth episode in our series on the presidency features A.J. Baime and his book, "Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America's Soul." Baime explains how President Truman revived his political fortunes with the most aggressive campaign in American history. He embarks on a "Whistlestop Tour" pledging to visit every county in the country. The "common man" president insists that victory is inevitable, even though the newspaper pundits considered him a goner. Baime describes Truman's personal strength in willing himself back into contention, as he argues in favor of Civil Rights, the recognition of Israel...
2020-10-2050 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#18: Special Episode - Ten Questions with Professor BuzzkillIn this special episode, we speak with one of history's most prolific podcasters, "Professor Buzzkill."Without a doubt, he is among the most listened-to history podcasters on the World Wide Web. His show influences all of us who have taken to this medium to discuss history.We asked each other ten questions about our shows, history, podcasting technique and our favorite books.His show is available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/professor-buzzkill/id980285277?mt=2His website is professorbuzzkill.comHe is available on Twitter at twitter.com...
2020-10-151h 11Axelbank Reports History and Today#17: Lindsay Chervinsky - "The Cabinet"Our fourth episode in our series on the presidency is with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, the author of, "The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution."Her book explains how early political battles led George Washington to create the cabinet as a board of advisors representing each of the Federal departments. She argues that although the cabinet itself is not explicitly called for in the Constitution, that George Washington recognized how important it was to soothe discord in the early republic. She explains how Washington ran his cabinet meetings, how the various secretaries battled, and...
2020-10-1346 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#16: Stephen Knott - "The Lost Soul of the American Presidency"Our third episode in our series on the presidency is with Dr. Stephen Knott, the author of, "The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline Into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal."His book explains how presidents have promised too much in an effort to "stir the passions" of the American people. He argues that lofty rhetoric, while great at helping candidates win votes, is seldom matched by actual accomplishment. Dr. Knott explains that demagogues lead to a "tyranny of the majority," which is mostly good for bragging rights, but leaves the American people angry at...
2020-10-0639 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#14: Steven Levingston - "Barack and Joe"Our series on the presidency begins with two biographical episodes of the major-party candidates.For our episode on Joe Biden, we interviewed Steven Levingston, the author of, "Barack and Joe."As opposed to analyzing every step of his political career, Levingston's book examined Biden through his relationship with the man who selected him to be vice president in 2008. Levingston explains how they go from being very different types of senators (one young and reserved, the other older and loquacious), to rivals in the presidential race, to forming a careful friendship and then forming a bond...
2020-09-2941 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#15: James Poniewozik - "Audience of One"Our series on the presidency begins with two biographical episodes of the major-party candidates.For our episode on Donald Trump, we interviewed James Poniewozik, the author of, "Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television and the Fracturing of America." As opposed to criticizing or applauding his presidency (which you can find anywhere), Poniewozik discusses Donald Trump through the defining medium of his life: television. He describes how Trump honed his TV skills in creating what Poniewozik calls the "character" we see everyday. He also describes how the TV industry changed over the course of Trump's life. H...
2020-09-2955 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#12: Regina Bradley - "Chronicling Stankonia"In this episode, we talk with Dr. Regina Bradley about her new book, "Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip Hop South." She explores the famed hip hop group, Outkast, and how they fueled a new kind of rap music in America. Atlanta was not always an international city, and Outkast rose just as the city was taking the world stage. She describes how black artists used to be stripped of their cultural identities by pop music promoters, and how Outkast avoided that trap. She and I explore Outkast's relationship with the Civil Rights Era, with segregation and with...
2020-09-1740 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#11: John Nixon - "Debriefing the President"In this episode, we talk with John Nixon, the author of, "Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein." Nixon is one of only a few Americans to speak to the former Iraqi dictator since the first Gulf War. He describes what it was like to question him and then bring intelligence back to the Oval Office and President Bush. He had numerous sessions with Saddam, and has a perspective almost no one on earth can have when it comes to the fall of Iraq and its leader.Since the Iraq War grew out of 9/11, this is...
2020-09-1155 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#10: Alexis Coe - "You Never Forget Your First"On this episode, we talk with NYT bestselling author Alexis Coe about her biography of George Washington. As the first woman in eons to write a cradle-to-grave bio of America's foremost Founding Father, she explains why it is so important that the legend be reexamined. Sure, she does some myth-busting, but she also explains his humanity in fresh tones, giving us a new way to think about him. We talk about how he sowed his career, his time as a general and president, and also about slavery at Mount Vernon. How would Coe re-design the Washington Monument? Should we...
2020-09-0457 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#8: Julie Satow - "The Plaza"In this episode, listen as author Julie Satow takes us on a historical tour of The Plaza Hotel. Her book, "The Plaza: The Secret History of America's Most Famous Hotel," takes an unforgettable dive into the world of luxury, celebrities, scandal and ambition. The Plaza isn't just a hotel, it's where guests, condo owners and workers have converged for over a century as they grapple for power and prestige. Of course, it's also the hotel that a future president just had to have, except it didn't go as planned. And wait until you hear how a publicity stunt for...
2020-08-2144 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#6: Craig Pittman - "Oh, Florida!"In this episode, we talk with the author of, "Oh, Florida! How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country." Listen as the veteran newspaper reporter and one of the foremost experts on "The Sunshine State" explains the origins of the "Florida Man." From scary animals, to Disney World, to hurricanes to climate change, Florida makes news day-in, day-out, just for being Florida. It's where one-of-a-kind politicians, too much humidity, too many drugs, gated communities and retirees mix, to form the perfect storm. But don't worry, he says, it's still a wonderful place to live!He...
2020-08-0750 minAxelbank Reports History and Today#4: Keri Leigh Merritt - "Masterless Men"In this episode, we speak with Keri Leigh Merritt, the author of "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South." While much of southern history rightly focuses on the impact slavery had on African-Americans, Merritt explains how important it is to also understand the impact it had on poor whites. Her scholarship shows how slavery's echoes are heard today not just in the descendants of slaves, but in those who lived alongside the system.She is active on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kerileighmerritt and her book is available on her website kerileighmerritt.com
2020-07-2435 min