Shows
Historians & Their HistoriesThe Art and Life of Francesca Alexander with Jacqueline MusacchioOn this special episode of Historians & Their Histories, guest host Megan Kate Nelson interviews art historian Jacqueline Musacchio. Prof. Musacchio discusses her latest publication on the community of female artists living in nineteenth-century Italy, notably Francesca Alexander. We learn about Alexander's experience as an American artist living abroad during a period of rapid change. Prof. Musacchio also discusses the challenges of working in the field of art history today. Prof. Musacchio is also the recipient of an Andrew Oliver Research Fellowship from the MHS. To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please...2025-06-1647 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryLittle Wolf and the American West with Megan Kate NelsonIn this episode of Leadership and Legacy, historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dr. Megan Kate Nelson illuminates the life and legacy of Little Wolf, a Northern Cheyenne military, political, and diplomatic leader. Drawing from her forthcoming book The Westerners, Nelson explores how Little Wolf embodied leadership values like consensus building, generosity, strategic brilliance, and sacrifice for the greater good—principles deeply rooted in Northern Cheyenne culture. The conversation offers insight into the complexity of Indigenous governance, the strategic resistance to U.S. expansion, and the enduring relevance of leadership qualities often overlooked in traditional narratives. Little Wolf’s story chal...2025-05-1939 min
2 Complicated 4 HistorySaving Yellowstone - Dr. Megan Kate NelsonDr. Lynn Price Robbins and Isaac S. Loftus are joined by Dr. Megan Kate Nelson to explore the history of Yellowstone, America’s first national park, and its pivotal role in shaping the nation’sidentity in the aftermath of a brutal civil war. As the country’s vision expanded westward, however, not everyone was included in the new national narrative. Please support this podcast by checking out our patreon:www.patreon.com/primarysourcemedia CHAPTERS:0:00 - Introductions2:13 - What First Interested In Yellowstone?8:2...2025-03-181h 06Historians & Their HistoriesThe End of the American Civil War with Michael VorenbergOn this special episode of Historians & Their Histories, Megan Kate Nelson sits down with Michael Vorenberg to discuss how he entered the field of history. They also discuss Prof. Vorenberg’s latest publication, Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War, available on March 18, 2025. To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page. Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-6-vorenberg This episode uses materials from: Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)2025-03-1752 min
Reckoning with Jason HerbertEpisode 113 From the Vault: Lincoln with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Megan Kate NelsonThis week we return to one of the first HATM Podcasts about one of the first films we ever did on the Historians At The Movies watch party: Lincoln. Joining us are two of the most dynamic historians working today: Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Megan Kate Nelson. We get into Lincoln's presidency, the role of his cabinet, as well as somehow ranking the hottest presidents. This one is a ride. About our guests:Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is a presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. She is the author...2025-01-151h 20
Ball Up Top: A Women’s Basketball PodcastGolden State WNBA Expansion Draft Announced: Who should teams protect? Who should the Valkyries pick?With the WNBA announcing the rules for the Expansion Draft, our crew went through every roster to give knee jerk reactions to how the draft might play out.The in-depth rules for the draft can be found here, but generalizing, each team can protect six players. The Golden State Valkyries will have the option to select one player from the remaining rostered players.Another big aspect, as explained by Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats, is that players that who have been cored twice can not be selected in the Expansion Draft.As...2024-10-0152 min
The Hartmann ReportLeaders We DeserveIn another round of fascinating and inspiring interviews, Thom connects with the Democratic Party activists making a difference. We visit with Benn Hogg from the gun-regulation group Leaders we Deserve, Ben Jealous of the Sierra Club, and Progressive leader Mark Pocan!Plus- Thom reads from 'Saving Yellowstone' by Megan Kate Nelson.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.2024-08-2458 min
Reckoning with Jason HerbertEpisode 85: Horizon and The West According to Kevin Costner with Megan Kate Nelson and Kate CarpenterThis week Megan Kate Nelson and Kate Carpenter drop in to talk about Kevin Costner's new American epic, Horizon. Our reviews (and our drinks) are mixed but this is such a fun episode as we talk not only about where Horizon succeeds and fails but also about what Costner's career has to say about The West in general. This one is fun.About our guests:Megan Kate Nelson is a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast.And starting in September, she will be the 2024-2025 Rogers Distinguished Fellow in 19th-Century American History at the Huntington...2024-07-111h 43
Best of the SpectatorThe Edition: how Nigel Farage became the left's greatest weaponThis week: Downfall. Our cover piece examines Nigel Farage’s role in the UK general election. Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues that Farage has become the left’s greatest weapon, but why? How has becoming leader of Reform UK impacted the campaign and could this lead to a fundamental realignment of British politics? Fraser joined the podcast to talk through his theory, with former UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn (02:10).
Next: Spectator writer Svitlana Morenets has returned to Ukraine to report on the war, which is now well into its third year. How are Ukrainians coping and what is daily...2024-06-2743 min
The EditionDownfall: how Nigel Farage became the left's greatest weaponThis week: Downfall. Our cover piece examines Nigel Farage’s role in the UK general election. Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues that Farage has become the left’s greatest weapon, but why? How has becoming leader of Reform UK impacted the campaign and could this lead to a fundamental realignment of British politics? Fraser joined the podcast to talk through his theory, with former UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn (02:10).Next: Spectator writer Svitlana Morenets has returned to Ukraine to report on the war, which is now well into its third year. How are Ukrainians coping and what is daily...2024-06-2743 min
The Past and StuffEpisode 13: Faking Fossils and Reading LiversIn this week’s episode Tracey talks about the Mexican Congressional Hearing into UFO’s and some pretty fake looking alien corpses, while Ashley tells us all about the upsurge of syphilis cases in Texas. Tracey’s piece of stuff this week continues the fakery theme with part of two episodes she will be doing on the infamous Piltdown Man hoax of a 500,000 year old hominid in Sussex. Ashley reveals a bronze object used for divination from sheep’s livers and reveals an unanticipated liver-centric world view in ancient times.
Tracey’s Stuff in the News
Tara C...2023-10-292h 25
Regarp BookBlogPodReview of: Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America, by Megan Kate NelsonReview of: Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America, by Megan Kate Nelson
Reviewed by Stan Prager, Regarp Book Blog
2023-07-2908 min
Peculiar Book Club PodcastWe're on an epic journey with How the West Was Won (Peculiar Movie Club)Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Saving Yellowstone by Megan Kate Nelson, we are discussing the movie How the West Was Won.
Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this epic western adventure. We'll be looking into the themes of western expansion, the treatment of Indigenous people in real life and Hollywood, and how nature and the land threw up road blocks all al...2023-07-061h 06
Peculiar Book Club PodcastTrek Your Way to Saving Yellowstone!Each year nearly four million people visit #Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey’s discoveries led to the passage of the Yellowstone Act in 1872, which created the first national park in the world.
Now, bestselling author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger context of this #American moment, illuminating Hayden...2023-06-301h 03
Addressing GettysburgGettysburg CWI Summer Conference 2023- Saving Yellowstone: Exploration & Preservation In Reconstruction America- Megan Kate NelsonDelivered on Sunday, June 11, 2023 by Dr. Megan Kate Nelson at the 2023 CWI Summer Conference at Gettysburg College. From Megan's website: "Hi there! I’m Megan Kate Nelson, a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast. I am the author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Scribner, 2020), which was a Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History. My new book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America was published by Scribner on March 1, 2022, the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Act, which...2023-06-181h 01
Professor Buzzkill History PodcastSaving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction AmericaDr. Megan Kate Nelson puts us in the middle of the history and context of the founding of Yellowstone National Park, one of America’s natural glories. She tells us how he park was an important part of Reconstruction after the Civil War, how explorers and bureaucrats fought over how the land should be used, and how Native Americans responded to this encroachment on their land. A complicated and gripping story, and one of our most compelling episodes. Episode 510.2023-05-1642 min
Radio Free GalisteoAuthor/Historian Megan Kate Nelson Discusses Her Book - The Three Cornered War.Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, and Smithsonian Magazine. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of Saving Yellowstone, , Ruin Nation, and Trembling Earth. Megan speaks with Radio Free Galisteo's John Shannon about her book The Three-Cornered War :The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the W...2023-03-0644 min
Reckoning with Jason HerbertEpisode 11: Lincoln with Lindsay Chervinsky and Megan Kate NelsonThis week Historians At The Movies gets into Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. And I've got two of the best damn historians working today to talk about it. And yes, we're ranking the hottest presidents of all time.About our guests: Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and currently is a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. She received her B.A. with honors in history and political science from George Washington University, her masters and Ph.D. from the...2023-02-081h 26
Ranking ‘76:The American West27.2 GeronimoGeronimo was just arrested. How will he respond? Retire? Farm? lets find out shall we?
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Geronimo by Robert Utley
Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief by Edwin R Sweeney
The Apache Wars by Paul Andrew Hutton
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
The...2023-01-171h 40
Ranking ‘76:The American West27.1 GeronimoGeronimo, a name that stuck fear into anyone in his path but how did he become a legend? in the episode we talk about his early life and what leads him to become the face of Apache resistance!
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To review the scores and the teams, visit our website site HERE
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Sourcing
Geronimo by Robert Utley
Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief by Edwin R Sw...2023-01-031h 10
APEX Hour at SUU09/22/2022: Megan Kate NelsonThis week we are joined by author, historian, and national park expert, Megan Kate Nelson.
Megan comes to the A.P.E.X. stage to share her insights and research on the history of one of America’s greatest gems, Yellowstone National Park.***
Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex2022-09-2252 min
USAHEC Perspectives Lectures Series (Audio)Fighting in the Desert: The American Civil War in the SouthwestOn September 14, 20022 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by Pulitzer Prize nominated author Dr. Megan Kate Nelson. In this lecture, Dr. Nelson discussed the American Civil War by introducing the national conflict’s impact on Indigenous peoples in the West and analyzing the strategic connections between the Civil War, Indian War, and western expansion. In highlighting the Civil War in the West, Dr. Nelson points attention to nine charismatic individuals who fought for regional control in the West in the midst of the larger military conflict.2022-09-161h 09
Past PresentEpisode 337: The U.S. National ParksIn this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the history of U.S. national parks. Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Yellowstone National Park turned 150 years old this year. Natalia recommended historian Rachel Louise Moran’s book Governing Bodies; American Politics and the Shaping of the Modern Physique. Niki cited historian Sarah Phillips’ book This Land, This Nation: Conservation, Rural America, and The New Deal and this Atlantic essay by David Treuer. Neil discussed this Smithsonian magazine article. Natalia...2022-08-0242 min
Outside/InThe first national parkThe land had been cultivated and lived on for millennia when geologist Ferdinand Hayden came upon the astounding Yellowstone "wilderness." It wasn't long before the federal government declared it a national park, to be preserved in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Ostensibly. How did Yellowstone go from being an important home, hunting ground, thoroughfare and meeting place to being a park? This episode was reported and produced by our friends at the wonderful podcast Civics 101. Featuring: Megan Kate Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone, Mark David Spence, author of Dispossessing the Wilderness and Alexandra E. St...2022-07-1441 min
New Books in the American WestMegan Kate Nelson, "Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America" (Scribner, 2022)In 1871 an expedition entered the territory now encompassed by Yellowstone National Park. Led by doctor and self-taught geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, it was to be the first scientific expedition into that mysterious place.But it was also, says my guest Megan Kate Nelson, part of a larger struggle over the expansion of federal power during Reconstruction. Hayden would be one of the three men who would strive for control of Yellowstone, and the surrounding territory. The others were Jay Cooke, a Philadelphia investment banker raising capital for the Northern Pacific Railroad; and a Lakota leader known to Engl...2022-06-131h 10
New Books in Environmental StudiesMegan Kate Nelson, "Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America" (Scribner, 2022)In 1871 an expedition entered the territory now encompassed by Yellowstone National Park. Led by doctor and self-taught geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, it was to be the first scientific expedition into that mysterious place.But it was also, says my guest Megan Kate Nelson, part of a larger struggle over the expansion of federal power during Reconstruction. Hayden would be one of the three men who would strive for control of Yellowstone, and the surrounding territory. The others were Jay Cooke, a Philadelphia investment banker raising capital for the Northern Pacific Railroad; and a Lakota leader known to Engl...2022-06-131h 10
Greenhouse Environmental Humanities Book TalksMegan Kate Nelson – Saving YellowstoneWriter and historian Megan Kate Nelson discussed her book Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) in the Greenhouse environmental humanities book talk series on Monday, 13 June 2022.
Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey’s discoveries led to the pass...2022-06-131h 01Greenhouse Environmental Humanities Book TalksMegan Kate Nelson – Saving YellowstoneWriter and historian Megan Kate Nelson discussed her book Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) in the Greenhouse environmental humanities book talk series on Monday, 13 June 2022.
Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. In late July 1871, the geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, entering one of the last unmapped places in the country. The survey’s discoveries led to the pass...2022-06-131h 01
Voices Of CourageVOC 216 - The Courage to Save YellowstoneShow Opener:Is Yellowstone National Park going to Erupt? Will it continue to be a National Park? Well most likely the greatest threats will be coming from from climate change, invasive species, mining outside the park, barriers to connectivity for bison and grizzly bears, and park finance. But there is more to learn about Yellowstone than the current issues and it starts with the history of the park… Show Summary What is happening in Yellowstone National Park? Find out as Ken D Foster interviews famed historian Megan Kate Nelson. ...2022-06-0559 min
ChatterThe Movie "Casablanca" in Myth and Reality with Meredith HindleyThis week marks the 80th anniversary of the start of principal photography on Casablanca, the 1942 film that would win Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Philip Epstein, Julius Epstein, and Howard Koch). Often ranked by critics and the general public in the top five films of all time, Casablanca was first screened just as the city in French Morocco was hitting headlines because of the Allies' Operation TORCH invasion of North Africa during World War II.To talk about the movie, the city's wartime history, and the veracity of...2022-05-261h 10
Converging Dialogues#137 - Yellowstone and History of the Western United States: A Dialogue with Megan Kate NelsonIn this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Megan Kate Nelson on the western theater of the Civil War and the history of Yellowstone National Park. They discuss the reasoning for fighting in the western theater of the Civil War, location specifics, and various characters involved. They discuss the involvement of various Native American tribes, White Americans forcible removal of Native peoples, and how the Civil War was fought on various stages. They also talk about the difficult history of Yellowstone, President Grant's role in the reconstruction period, and how Yellowstone went from expedition to the first National...2022-05-161h 23
The Goldberry Books PodcastHistorian Megan Kate Nelson Shares Her Favorite Books of History (and more)Megan Kate Nelson is an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture. In fact, she’s such an expert that in 2021 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History for her book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the Wes. Her new book, out this Spring, is called Saving Yellowstone and is about the historical context in which Yellowstone was discovered, preserved, and established as a national park.As her website puts it, it is “a narrative of adve...2022-05-1249 min
Close Reads Podcast HQHistorian Megan Kate Nelson Shares Her Favorite Books of History (and more)Megan Kate Nelson is an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture. In fact, she’s such an expert that in 2021 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History for her book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the Wes. Her new book, out this Spring, is called Saving Yellowstone and is about the historical context in which Yellowstone was discovered, preserved, and established as a national park.As her website puts it, it is “a narrative of adve...2022-05-1249 min
What's Your Why?Megan Kate Nelson: Writing The WestMegan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer, with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America(Scribner 2022) and her previous book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West(Scribner 2020) was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History. She writes about the Civil War, the U.S. West, and American culture for The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, and TIME. Before leaving academia to write...2022-05-0535 min
The Past, the Promise, the PresidencyS3 E6: Environmental ProtectionThis week, we are going to be exploring the relationship between presidents, the bully pulpit, and environmental protection. When did presidents start thinking about federal use of land? When did that consideration change from an economic one based on maximizing profit and agricultural production for white settlers to something else? We are going to tackle these questions and more on today's episode. First, we spoke with Dr. Mark David Spence, the author of Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of National Parks, about the early history of presidents and land as a national resource. We t...2022-04-2849 min
The Gilded Age and Progressive EraSaving YellowstoneMegan Kate Nelson takes us on a journey to Yellowstone, the first national park and a site of iconic western beauty. From the scientific surveys that explored the park's geysers, to the railroad expansion through Native American territory, Dr. Nelson's book paints a vivid portrait of the place. Join us for a conversation about the American environment, economic panics, landscape photography, and how to write narrative history. Essential Reading:Megan Kate Nelson, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (2022).Recommended Reading:Ferdinand V. Hayden, “The Wonders of...2022-04-2753 min
Civics 101The First National ParkThe land had been cultivated and lived on for millennia when geologist Ferdinand Hayden came upon the astounding Yellowstone "wilderness." It wasn't long before the federal government declared it a national park, to be preserved in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Ostensibly. How did Yellowstone go from being an important home, hunting ground, thoroughfare and meeting place to being a park? Megan Kate Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone, Mark David Spence, author of Dispossessing the Wilderness and Alexandra E. Stern, historian of Native peoples and Reconstruction are our guides to this rocky start.
CLICK HE...2022-04-2639 min
Behind the Mic with AudioFile MagazineSAVING YELLOWSTONE by Megan Kate Nelson, read by Cynthia FarrellCynthia Farrell’s crisp voice suits Megan Kate Nelson’s fascinating history of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Farrell’s intelligent narration of this history of the Reconstruction era. It is told through three central figures: the financier Jay Cooke, the geologist Ferdinand Hayes, and the courageous Sitting Bull, who led his Lakota people in resisting the incursions on their lands. Farrell narrates with intelligence, a careful cadence, and an actor’s dramatic style.Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio.Find mor...2022-04-2005 min
Radio Free GalisteoAuthor Megan Kate Nelson Discusses her New Book Saving YellowstoneMegan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Preservation Magazine, and Civil War Monitor. SAVING YELLOWSTONE: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America shines a light on the creation of our first national park, and makes clear how frequently the grandest goals of our country precipitate the suffering and subjugation of many who called this land home, and how our most progressive visions can be warped by the reality o...2022-03-2328 min