Edward Stettinius, Jr. served a short but important time as Secretary of State serving F.D.R. and Truman.  Without him, there may not have been a UN.  And because he got very little credit, he was able to be successful.   With...

In this episode, we speak with Cheryl Woodruff Brooks, author of  Washington was a cosmetic entrepreneur whose company turned her into one of of America's first black millionaires. She was founder and president of Apex Enterprises consisting of...

Events 100 years ago have nothing at all to do with today's events, unless you consider new technologies changing the pace of life, the immigration issue, a new administration changing messaging and policies, racism and racial violence, crime, labor...

The Constitution contains two possible forms of presidential removal outside of election, one is the much-discussed impeachment process. The other is the 25th Amendment's fourth section. We discuss 25 Section 4 with Professor Brian C. Kalt, Professor...

In 1892, a dreaded disease caused a President to navigate local health situation and created a new law.  We look at the precedent-setting quarantine order of the 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison.  While we are at it, we look at Harrison's...

A look at a frenetic day at the Nixon White House.  

Who was Chester Arthur's secret pen pal?  How did Herbert Hoover spend his last day in office?  What was McKinley's obscure accomplishment?  What was Rutherford B. Hayes passionate hobby? What event hurt Taft's Presidency from the...

From Eugene Debs to Richard Nixon, from a previously run episode, the President's power to pardon is examined.  

We speak often of Democracy, but do we really know what it is?  We point to Athens as an example.  But what was Greek Democracy really like?  A conversation with Dr. Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow at the University...

Host Bruce Carlson reflects on 14 years of the podcast, provides a show update.  Plus some listener questions on masks then and now, Presidents leaving (or not leaving) the Oval, and Kennedy's 1960 election and allegations of fraud.

The invention of radio and government intervention in recreation.

Jessica Weisberg has traced Ben Franklin's early advice-writing, read the "Lord Chesterfield" letters that early Americans read to learn how to act, attended Dale Carnegie workshops and spoke with Miss Manners all in a quest to track down why...

America's fascination then and now with sea rebels, sea dogs, privateers, smugglers, and pirates by other names is pretty clear.  Books, movies and video games with pirates sell.  We talk with pirate expert and historian Rebecca Simon, Ph.D....

In this episode we look at an enduring mystery, one that didn't matter too much in the 1960 election but has since taken on significance. Could it be that Kennedy lost, and Nixon won, the popular vote nationally in 1960. We looked at it a decade ago,...

We discuss the tight election that elected the first Democratic President in 25 years and some comparisons and contrasts to the current election.  A President's umbrella, salutes for his "big foot," chain-armor clad parades, and the importance of...

The 1880 election was close, with Democrats and Republicans seeking an advantage in its waning days when a letter hits a major city newspaper purporting to be in the hand of a candidate.  It is a letter that could turn the election.  With...

A hodge-podcast of bits of things. A bit about the Washington family, and ancestors he didn't know that he had. And some follow ups from other casts. About that 'Electric Horse' that Coolidge used for exercise. And Lincoln deals with fake news like a pro. We are part of Airwave Media Network Interested in Advertising? sales@advertisecast.net

A bit of an American political story about politics, corn, common sense.  

Eagle Claw, popularly known as Desert One, was the unsuccessful attempt to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980, hostages that had been held since the storming of the embassy in 1979.  Replaying two previous podcasts on the topic, we look at the...

High political stakes, secret plots, Plug Uglies armed with sharp awls to help 'convince' voters... Baltimore in the 1850's was a fearsome place where politics and gangs were hard to separate.  Yet it was the connecting stop for new Presidents...

Newark N.J. suffered a brutal and consuming riot, or rebellion, depending on how you see things, in the hot summer of 1967. Through the voices of history, we hear about those events, what caused it, and the musician who got caught up and became an...

George Washington did not get a Cabinet as President. He created it. His precedents forged the institution and the President's relationship to the Executive Departments. Washington didn't fire a cabinet member, but he set the precedents in this area...

We talk about Idi Amin, Kim Jong-il and other despots with Scott Rank of History Unplugged Podcast.  He joins us to talk about his book History's Nine Most Insane Rulers.  We get into Amin's awful suppression of opposition, deportation of...

The May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State killed 4 students and wounded 9. Paula Stone Tucker was a student going through her work and studies on campus when she witnessed a historic event. We talk about Kent State, how the 4 days unfolded, and get...

Godwin's Law is Not a Law.  And yet, it probably should be followed in most cases.  (re-do of past episode that contained an error).  The surprising history of the rule that one should not discuss Nazis in debates, and the person who is...