エピソード

  • Stories for the Semiquincentennial

    Stories for the Semiquincentennial
    2026/06/25
    In 1976, the Bikecentennial became the first organized bike tour across the U.S. Around 4,000 bicyclists pedaled to celebrate the Bicentennial, or America’s 200th anniversary. Tom Ewing breaks down the spirit of the Bikecentennial, its grassroots nature, and lessons to be learned for America’s upcoming 250th celebration. Later in the show: At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, 87 enslaved people on the Willoughby Plantation in Norfolk, VA escaped under the cover of night. Ervin Jordan traces their remarkable journey from Norfolk to New York to Nova Scotia and then to Sierra Leone in Africa. Plus: The Revolutionary War is often framed as a righteous fight for liberty and representative government. But Mark Boonshoft says those same ideals didn’t always make their way into our state constitutions. His forthcoming book is, The Violent Origins of Constitutional Democracy in Revolutionary New York.
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    52 分
  • Framing the Civil War

    Framing the Civil War
    2026/06/18
    For nearly a century the National Park Service would tell you all about the civil war battles and tactics, but meticulously avoided the most explosive word in the American lexicon: Slavery. Former National Park Service Chief Historian Dwight Picaithley says that all changed in 1998, triggering thousands of protest letters and political threats. Later in the show: At the start of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass wrote and spoke harshly about Abraham Lincoln for not moving more quickly on emancipation. But in his new book Jonathan White reveals how Douglass came to become one of Lincoln’s greatest admirers. Plus: In A Wonderful Career in Crime, Frank Garmon tells the story of the only criminal to have been pardoned by two of the most prominent political foes of the day, President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate states.
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    52 分
  • The Monsters Among Us

    The Monsters Among Us
    2026/06/12
    A cold, dark summer in 1816 brought an extraordinary group of young writers together on the shores of Lake Geneva—including an eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Andrew Stauffer tells the story of that summer and the conversations, dreams, and climate catastrophe that created Frankenstein’s magic. Later in the show: Goliath might be the most famous giant from the Bible, but he’s not the only one. Paul Thomas takes us on a deep dive into the monsters of biblical stories. And: Greek and Roman mythology is filled with sea monsters. Georgia Irby explains how ancient relationships with the ocean brought these monsters to life.
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    52 分
  • Fatherhood

    Fatherhood
    2026/06/04
    George Tzamaras fancies himself as a “connoisseur of fine dad jokes.” I have him rate a few of my own dad jokes as a rite of passage as I start my journey into fatherhood. His new book is called It’s Dad Joke Friday: The Collection (2018-2025). Also: Being a dad is a huge responsibility. And as my wife and I get closer to our due date, I’m starting to feel the nerves kicking in. I sat down with Santo Coleman to talk about the power of fatherhood and share my own anxieties about being a first-time dad. And: Back in the day, the stereotypical dad would come home from work and plop themselves on the couch, while the mom toiled with dinner and the kids. But now fathers are more involved in the family than ever before. Scott Grether studies the household division of labor in hetero couples. Spoiler alert: us guys still have a long way to go. Later in the show: We’ve known for a long time that moms have an increased risk of depression during and after pregnancy. But what about dads? James Paulson breaks down the understudied field of paternal depression and shares a fact that’ll probably blow your mind: new or soon to be fathers experience similar rates of depression as mothers.
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    52 分
  • A Crack in the System

    A Crack in the System
    2026/05/28
    I’ll admit it, I’m not very good at dealing with conflict. In fact, I’d rather avoid conflict altogether than tackle it head on. It’s not something I really love about myself. So I sat down with Emily Gerst to learn how to do conflict better and maybe even overcome my conflict avoidant ways. Later in the show: Mongolia, China, Israel, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and even the United Nations. These are just some of the places Tay Keong Tan’s globetrotting anti-corruption work has taken him. Plus: Arnold Westbrook recently helped his hometown HBCU - Virginia State University - earn the prestigious recognition as a “Partner in Peace” by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.
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    52 分
  • What Air is to Fire

    What Air is to Fire
    2026/05/22
    A life steeped in literature fueled the rise of the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office. Ghazala Hashmi discusses the power of storytelling and why she believes a well-worn novel is her secret weapon for navigating the high-stakes drama of government. Later in the show: James Baldwin’s writings challenge the traditional democratic narrative. Pamela Reed discusses Baldwin’s views on the costs of maintaining a racial hierarchy within America’s democratic framework. Plus: Former Bush White House speechwriter Mary Kate Cary dives into the transformative power of voices like Margaret Chase Smith, who stood up to McCarthyism, and Harvey Milk, who ignited the gay rights movement.
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    52 分
  • Teacher's Pet

    Teacher's Pet
    2026/05/14
    Teacher's Pet by With Good Reason
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    52 分
  • 2026 Summer Reading Recs

    2026 Summer Reading Recs
    2026/05/08
    It’s time for our annual summer reading recommendation round-up! From a book that traces the Cold War history of our “Made in China” goods, to a witchy novel about an old woman in the woods, we’ve got suggestions for every kind of summer. We even threw in a few podcast recs! You’ll hear from Megan Doney on reading translated fiction and Austin Jersild on international history. Later in the show: Michael Carhart on understanding pre-history and Matt Brent shares a speculative Japanese novel.
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    52 分