Abe Fortas was a rising star on the Supreme Court. He argued a still-legendary case before it and then was appointed one of its justices. For many he was seen as the successor to Earl Warren. It was when he was nominated for Chief Justice that opposition cemented. He was too close to the President, too liberal on issues, and then there were disclosures of contributions he had received were revealed. After a drawn-out stalemate he withdrew his candidacy for Chief Justice. But it wouldn't stop there. Fortas also stepped down as an Associate Justice as the administration changed and political pressure increased. The Fortas case would be revealed later by insider and Watergate persona John Dean as part of an 'unpacking' plan that President Nixon had to reduce the left-lean of the Warren court, though it wasn't obvious at the time. But it's not that simple either. Fortas's case also has set a precedent for the danger of having a Justice with a close relationship to the Chief Executive.

Introducing - Founding Son: John Quincy's America

More of the story - Boiler room bohemians, the coup before the coup, Soviet "Easterns" Cowboy Movies, cassette tapes of Vladimir Vysotsky, how to save money, USSR style, faking out the KGB and more.

A country is removed from the map in a week. There's more too than that, but it's not far from the most truthful description. The final episode of our series on the fall of the Soviet Union finds a rescued Gorbachev quickly realizing that he might be in yet another seizure of power. But this one happening quietly over a few tiring days. And with the support of the Russian people.

The first blood is spilled. We look at the right-wing of Soviet Society which triggered the putsch. And the rebellious elements that also existed. Jeans, rock and roll, religion, revisionism and weakness. Music by Lee Rosevere and Theme Song by Chris Novembrino We are part of Airwave Media Network - check out Ben Franklin's World, Tea Time History, Redacted History, the History of China, The Explorers Podcast, The Age of Napoleon www.airwavemedia.com Want to Advertise on My History Can Beat Up Your Politics? sales@advertisecast.com

As barricades are built and citizens turn to a protective barrier, the Soviet culture they come from might be the very thing that keeps them going. Music by Lee Rosevere and Theme by Chris Novembrino We are part of Airwave Media Network To hear the next two episodes right now - sign up for our Patreon Sponsor: Wondery's American Scandal Be Sure to Check Out Their Season on the Oklahoma City Bombing

Two institutions, the press and the military, may well determine the fate of the USSR on the night of August 19th, 1991. The Emergency Committee decides, it's time to explain themselves on TV. A reporter makes a fateful decision. So does another. A motley crowd is fashioned into an instant militia.

Yeltzin has stood on a tank, but few have seen it. Crowds shift from the traditional protest places to a new one. They bring heavy metal. What on Zemlya is happening? It all starts in a steam bath. Sort of. In order to understand the events of August 19th, 1991, it's necessary to look back. Particularly at 1989, when the most orderly country on earth became the most unpredictable. Music by Lee Rosevere and Theme Song by Chris Novembrino We are part of Airwave Media Network - check out Ben Franklin's World, Tea Time History, Redacted History, the History of China, The Explorers Podcast, The Age of Napoleon www.airwavemedia.com Want to Advertise on My History Can Beat Up Your Politics? sales@advertisecast.com

Soviet citizens wake up to tanks outside their windows in 1991. Media is censored. The President is detained. Another president escapes, maybe just escapes... A third President is powerless. Is this the end of everything?

The Democratic Party had a problem in the nineteen teens and twenties. What to do with a candidate that could stir up crowds but not enough electoral votes? Though pleased to nominate him in 1896 and introduce a new kind of politics to their party, some Democrats grew tired of William Jennings Bryan especially in his later years as his fundamentalism turned to alcohol, evolution and an arguable Southern favoritism. Also a brief look at his daughter, Ruth Bryan Owen

We talk a bit about Nathaniel Banks, the Speaker of The House of Representatives that (still) took the most ballots to be elected. Kevin McCarthy joins the ranks of Speakers that needed multiple ballots - we discuss the implications. A brief look at Frederick Gillett, the last Speaker to even need two ballots in 1923, and then a look at why Congress starts on January 3rd.

The 72nd Congress of 1931 was, as elected, a very narrow Republican House 218 R - 217 D. Close, but for President Hoover, good enough. That is until, 14 Congressmen-elect died. Not all at once - that would be weird - over 13 months, for all kinds of reasons but heart attacks and pneumonias leading the list. When special elections were held, it went 218 D and 216 R. 1 Farm Laborer supported the Democrats so 219-216. We talk about this curious case. We also talk about the 14 Congressmen-elect who had some interesting biographies. And we talk Herbert Hoover and the spin he (tried to) put on The Great Depression. We are part of Airwave Media Podcast Network. www.airwavemedia.com Advertise? sales@advertisecast.com

One three-second period changed the life of an East German soldier. Stories of freedom and oppression feature heavily on this hodge-podcast episode, the Berlin Wall, the Uruguay dictatorship of the 70's and 80's, a bit about Grover Cleveland and a bit about Charles III.

As the world attention focuses on a soccer game, behind the surface is a disturbingly hidden suppression of a previously strong democracy.

A discussion of the 26th Amendment, the story behind it. John Lennon and his attempt to mobilize youth voting, and how Nixon countered it. And a look at the 18-29 year-old vote in recent elections including the recent midterm. Parts from 2013 and parts recorded this year.

Call 2022 the Mick Jagger midterm - neither party got fully what they wanted. Both parties experienced win and losses. It is, so far, largely a "stave midterm" where the President's party lost less seats than expected - we've discussed a few of these on this podcast, and thus for the party expected to have lost seats a kind of win. Yet in this case as opposed to other 'stave' midterms, the President's Party looks like they will lose the house. So when is a win a win and a loss a loss? Is this like the 1970, 1990 or 1994 or 1974 elections? We discuss all this and talk about a midterm in the past.

The race for the Democratic Nomination in 1968 a complicated one, as one candidate would drop out and another die tragically. But for a while, with other candidates choosing not to enter primaries, the '68 Democratic primary became a fight between two concepts of being left in politics and two individuals that couldn't be more different. Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy.

SIDE A: Ford's Bad Day - Dylan's Troll - High School Riot - Howard Cosell's Politics SIDE B: One Hit Wonder - Skylab Falls - Austin Gets Weird - Global Cooling and Warming

One reaction to the inflation stagnation and interest rates of the 1970's was to loosen up on a particular 'harmless' form of banking. It didn't work out so well.

In the past 100 years, over 80% of the first term midterms went badly for Presidents, and their party lost seats. But in a few cases they did not. And a few times when they did, the result was very little real change or even a kind of win. A look at first term midterms during the Presidencies of Chester Arthur, Harding, FDR, GW Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. A combo of new and previously recorded MHCBUYP episodes reveals that while many first term midterms have devastated the President's plans, Presidents don't always do badly, there are 'stave' elections where Presidents have lost so little it's almost a win. And sometimes, a defeat has positive effects. Music by Josh Woodward and Lee Rosevere in this episode. Find them on the Free Music Archive website

A trip to DC inspires me. I try to talk about just about everything going on in this episode from midterms to J6 to Mara Lago to the Republic as it stands, to third parties in US politics, to former Presidents running to a town name in New York that I butchered. And in case we think things are crazy today, we look a bit at how a poet and a writer viewed Washington in 1963 and 1964.

1876 is the key historical example of an election in American history so bitterly contested, with wrong committed on both sides: Democrats intimidated voters, Republicans responded by ignoring vote returns and merely claiming they won the states. It might have meant a return to rifles, at least in some areas of the country. It definitely was getting hot in D.C. But the reaction of one candidate, Samuel Tilden made it different. And a reporter, William C. Hudson was able to witness the actions of that candidate when urged by partisans to start an extra-constitutional movement. We go to that moment. Also a meeting between Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt witnessed by the same reporter. It finds T.R. not so happy with the result. From political reporter of the 19th century William C Hudson comes too stories with resonant power today. We are part of Airwave Media Network Want to advertise? sales@advertisecast.com

Descripti

We are a month beyond of the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, but it does seem appropriate to note an obscure player in the story. Frank Wills discovered a door had been deliberately held unlocked in the basement of The Watergate Office Complex. The rest became history. But for Wills it was bittersweet. His intersection with history also became a story of race and the choppy waters of a "proto-reality TV" 1970's America. We also tell the story of an intern in the wrong place at the wrong time, though it was perhaps the right time who played a completely accidental role in thwarting a burglary. We are part of Airwave Media Network www.airwavemedia.com Interesting in advertising? sales@airwavemedia.com Music by Lee Rosevere - he's on bandcamp - https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/