My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
654 episodes - English - Latest episode: 20 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.1K ratingsSince 2006, this podcast has been using history to elevate today's political debates. "The perfect antidote to bloviating talking heads, My History is thoughtful, nuanced, and highly engaging." -Columbia Journalism Review
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Episodes
I Travelled Through Time to Tell You This - 14 Years of My History Can Beat Up Your Politics - Plus Listener Questions
November 22, 2020 20:28 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBHost 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.
Kent State: After the Bullets
November 17, 2020 19:35 - 1 hourWe know that on May 4th, 1970, fifty years ago, four students were killed by the National Guard at Kent State in Ohio. What is not always known is everything that happened after that. Opinion wasn't universally with the slain students, the school had little interest in memorializing and the criminal justice system focused not at those who killed students but at the students themselves. We talk to Howard Ruffner, author of "Moments of Truth" and an eyewitness to the events. Learn more about yo...
You Must Run if Drafted: Blaine and General Sherman, McKinley and Admiral Dewey
November 09, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutesBoth Blaine and McKinley dodge possible challenges to their Presidential hopes from military generals. But in different ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blaine and General Sherman, McKinley and Admiral Dewey
November 09, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutesBoth Blaine and McKinley dodge possible challenges to their Presidential hopes from military generals. But in different ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Notes of 1884: Thoughts on That Election, and the Current One
November 09, 2020 11:57 - 48 minutesWe 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 a concern for the "general weal." all in this episode. Music by Stephan Siebert, About Life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 1796 Presidential Election - "Placing us in a Point of Opposition to Each Other"
October 30, 2020 12:39 - 34 minutes - 27.8 MB"The public and the public papers have been much occupied lately in placing us in a point of opposition to each other." So wrote Jefferson to Adams about the 1796 Presidential Election, America's first with two candidates with true campaigns. The letter didn't reach its recipient, the opposing candidate of a party; the old friends became political figures and their letters potential weapons as opposing sides had gelled too much. The 1796 Presidential Election was America's first with ...
The 1796 Presidential Election: Placing us in a Point of Opposition to Each Other
October 30, 2020 12:39 - 37 minutesThe 1796 Presidential Election was America's first with two candidates with true campaigns. Before it was over there would feature negative ads, misconstructions of candidate statements, foreign interference and backlash to that interference, and election count disputes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Don't Run for President: Candidates Who Ran, Didn't Run, Didn't Want to Run, Couldn't Run or Didn't Know They Were Running for President
October 25, 2020 22:05 - 1 hourA candidate who didn't run for President. A candidate who ran, but didn't know he was running. A candidate who didn't want to run, but had no choice. A candidate who ran without seeming to run, and a candidate who ran but died before the votes were counted. A history of running for President, not running for President and running for President in the worst way. Grab a mug of hard cider and enjoy the tales of infinite jest and educational interest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
What You Haven't Been Told About The 1860 Election: Houston vs. Lincoln, Woke Volunteers, Fossil Politicians and More
October 21, 2020 12:41 - 45 minutesAbraham Lincoln running against...Sam Houston? It is not a far-fetched idea that Abraham Lincoln might have faced Texas hero Sam Houston in the election of 1860, as he was under serious consideration to be one of the candidates in what became a four-way Presidential election of 1860. And he would have been a formidable one, except backroom candlelight politics ended Houston's presidential dreams. Also, how Lincoln benefit from "woke" political "armies," a houseless candidate and other stories...
The "Gaffe-a-thon" of the 1976 Election
October 19, 2020 16:41 - 35 minutesJimmy Carter's speechwriter said "We were 30 points up, but unfortunately we had to campaign." A tight race turns to a veritable battle of gaffes between two newbie Presidential candidates. A surprise challenger and an unelected President. We go over the close '76 election, including a last-minute event that almost changed history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dewey Gets Mad: Another Look at the 1948 Election
October 15, 2020 17:49 - 51 minutesTruman's high-tech train, Dewey's We Go High optimism and the defeat that made him cling to it, Truman's risky calling of a Session of Congress and how it went badly for him in a few ways, and Dewey's decision to get angry, unfortunately first at an average citizen and only later at his opponent. This and other lesser-known stories of the 1948 Election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Fifth Debate That Never Happened - 1960
October 09, 2020 17:29 - 36 minutesAfter the four TV debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960, there was talk of a fifth. That talk didn't result in another TV debate, but did provide one more campaign issue for a very tight election, and developed a new thing - TV debate negotiations. We look at 1960, the fifth debate talk, and other reasons besides the debates that affected the 1960 election results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blaine, Washington, and Stories of Health and Sickness and Politics
October 07, 2020 18:19 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBFrom James Blaine's fainting spell days before Republicans chose a candidate, to Washington's extreme flu scare, to the SARS epidemic and a look at the Ever-So-Prescient Defoe's Journal of a Plague Year, Health and Sickness and Politics.
Blaine's Faint, Washington's Flu, Defoe's London and SARS: Stories of Health and Sickness and Politics
October 07, 2020 18:19 - 1 hourFrom James Blaine's fainting spell days before Republicans chose a candidate, to Washington's extreme flu scare, to the SARS epidemic and a look at the Ever-So-Prescient Defoe's Journal of a Plague Year, Health and Sickness and Politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
John W. Davis Also Ran
October 06, 2020 14:11 - 32 minutesWhen an obscure lawyer won a party's nomination for President in a surprise convention choice, he used his platform to take on a hate group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing: The Fault Line: Bush, Blair & Iraq
September 29, 2020 14:02 - 12 minutes - 8.87 MBWhy did we go to war in Iraq in 2003? What happened in the 18 months between 9/11 and March 2003 that drove that decision? What was it about George Bush and Tony Blair that meant war was in the cards? And what motivated these two men at the peak of their powers – with the world on their side – to pursue a war that would prove to be historically unpopular
Earl Warren Replacement, Election Year SCOTUS Battles, Mario Cuomo and Court Packing
September 20, 2020 21:16 - 49 minutesThe death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has brought forth a week of mourning but also politics over the Supreme Court. We discuss the history behind election-year appointments, most notably 1968 and we look at the thorny issue of Court-Packing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 1880 Election and The Morey Letter: a Tale of October Surprise, Immigration, Memes and Counter Memes and Nothing to Do with Today's Politics
September 17, 2020 22:09 - 1 hourThe 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 Todd Arrington, a historian at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio, we discuss James A. Garfield's surprise nomination and the Morey letter. We also discuss what could have been had Garfield lived. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
George Washington's English Ancestors, Coolidge's Electric Horse and Other Stories
September 15, 2020 04:00 - 33 minutesA 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? [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
All That Stuff Before the Debate Happens
September 08, 2020 23:16 - 48 minutesFrom belt buckles, to town-halls to whether the veeps get to debate, a brief history of debate negotiations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"It Looked Like Hell" - The Story of The 1980 DNC Convention w/ Rick Perlstein, Author of 'Reaganland'
August 18, 2020 11:57 - 1 hourThe Democratic Convention in New York City in 1980 was not the example to follow for how to run a convention. With the help of "Reaganland" author and historian Rick Perlstein, we look at one of the most frustrating modern conventions. The fight between Ted Kennedy and Carter for the nomination, obscure rules challenges, delegates cajoled by generals, men in green and white, just a blip of Bill Clinton, Communists and fireworks and the handshake that doomed a ticket are among the items discus...
A Mystery of The 1992 Election: Did Clinton Win, Or Did Perot Put Him in Office?
August 13, 2020 16:00 - 36 minutesWe look at a question that's important for understanding future presidential races: Did Clinton Win Because of Ross Perot? Or Not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Granting of Certiorari: The Hidden Process Behind the Supreme Court
August 12, 2020 18:34 - 30 minutesA bit about an obscure procedure that can mean everything, from a 2011 episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Top 10 Worst VP Picks in History
August 11, 2020 11:59 - 41 minutesUsually a choice at the top of the ticket helps. But sometimes it doesn't. Bruce goes into his Top 10 Worst VP Picks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What the Old Country America Was Like, per William Monks
August 11, 2020 04:00 - 20 minutesThe early settlement of Southern Missouri, through the tale of William Monks told in 1908. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Best Convention Ever? New York, 1976 DNC
July 27, 2020 18:33 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBThe convention that nominated then-unknown Jimmy Carter in 1976 convention was worth 30 percentage points in the polls, and is seen as one of the best organized events by many who study politics. We look at what happened - from a strict chairman's gavel to a secret VP pick, from expert badge distribution to garbage cleanup, Along with possibly bugged phones, polyester suits, Delegate stories, Hunter Thompson and Joe Biden appearances., peanuts and fried chicken. And a Yellow Camaro that ch...
Most Effective Political Convention Ever? New York, 1976 DNC
July 27, 2020 18:33 - 1 hourJimmy Carter's 1976 convention in New York handed him 30 percentage points in the polls, and is seen as one of the best . We look at what happened - from a strict chairman's gavel to a secret VP pick, from expert badge distribution to garbage cleanup, Also: possibly bugged phones, fighting crime, polyester suits, Delegate stories, Hunter Thompson and Joe Biden appearances., peanuts and fried chicken. (and In a few weeks - how it all went downhill in '80) Music:- Lee Rosevere and Dee Yan Key L...
Bruce Interviewed on Intellectual Property...Frequently Podcast with David Pridham and Brad Sheafe
July 15, 2020 19:09 - 30 minutesWhy do people spend so much time watching the news? Bruce Carlson is interviewed by David, Brad at the IP...Frequently Podcast (hah) We discuss current events in the context of historical ones. Also, reverse virtue signaling. If interested in intellectual properties, business and some politics, check out Brad and Dave's podcast here: https://anchor.fm/ip-frequently Twitter: @IP_Frequently Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Corn, Story of Ethanol (from 2013)
July 14, 2020 16:00 - 22 minutesA bit of an American political story about politics, corn, common sense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Valley Forge Myth and Reality - Interview with Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, Authors of Valley Forge
July 10, 2020 20:30 - 59 minutesOne of Bruce's favorite interviews he's done on the podcast. These guys love Valley Forge and have some surprising insights. In this episode: Separating truth from lore about what is perhaps the most important moment of American Independence, along with authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. A very different Valley Forge emerges than the one in the textbooks. Politics, not the British nor the snow is the enemy. An integrated army of lower middle class soldiers, along with immigrants and Indians su...
Operation Eagle Claw and the 1979 Iran Embassy Storming
July 02, 2020 16:00 - 49 minutesEagle 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 hostage-taking and the rescue attempt. How the plan may have worked? What went wrong? Also, why the embassy was stormed in 1979 and why it was the second time that year. Why one hostage was mad that he was rescued. These topics are discussed and more. Learn...
Partisanship, 1850's Style w/ Josh Mensch, co-author of The Lincoln Conspiracy
July 01, 2020 12:07 - 1 hourBaltimore 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 and Union Soldiers getting to Washington D.C. We speak with Josh Mensch. Josh is the co-author with Brad Meltzer of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction history book The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President—and Why It Failed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Powder Keg About to Explode: Newark, NJ 1967
June 08, 2020 22:55 - 1 hourNewark 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 unlikely spark. Caught off guard, police and National Guard and a scuffle became a war. How the '67 events caused a change in government, was noticed in national politics, and how it remains an influence even for today's events. Learn more about you...
The Cabinet, George Washington's Creation, with Lindsay M. Chervinsky
May 26, 2020 11:02 - 44 minutesGeorge 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 and in others. We are joined by Lindsay M. Chervinsky, a historian with the white house historian Her book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution has been published by Harvard University Press. Learn more about...
What The Great Depression Felt Like, And Other Things
May 17, 2020 19:18 - 1 hourWhat caused The Great Depression, did FDR do anything to fix it, and how does it compare to our recent recessions? A 2008 cast that holds up well As events started to take shape in '08, , I remember sitting down in a park and scribbling the base of this podcast, with factoids thrown in later and stories from letters to the editors of newspapers of those who suffered through the Great Depression, and some from Studs Terkel's work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Protests: The Whole World is Watching - Chicago 1968
May 13, 2020 16:00 - 28 minutesIn the wake of Occupy Movements, we took a look at what happened at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
History's Nine Most Insane Rulers w Scott Rank of "History Unplugged" Podcast
May 12, 2020 00:18 - 1 hourWe talk Idi Amin, Kim Jong-il and other despots with Scott Rank of History Unplugged Podcast joins us to talk about his book History's Nine Most Insane Rulers. We get into Amin's awful suppression of opposition, deportation of Indian and Pakistani Ugandans, and extra judicial killings. Other insane rulers were more amusing, and we talk about that too. Lee Rosevere provides music on this program - check out his music on bandcamp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eugene McCarthy's Run
May 06, 2020 04:00 - 19 minutesThe race for the Democratic Nomination in 1968 was tough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rules of Political Debate: Godwin's Law is Not a Law
May 01, 2020 16:00 - 27 minutesGodwin'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 not a scientist nor a lawmaker who came up with it. Also, when you can violate the rule and what the rule says about meme-driven discussions in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eyewitness to Kent State Shootings: Paula Stone Tucker
May 01, 2020 16:00 - 57 minutesThe 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 Paula Stone Tucker's take on events. She is the author of the book Surviving a Kent State Memoir. We are grateful to Ohio vs. the World Podcast for lending the story of another Kent State shooting survivor Dean Kahler. Sign up for Alex's podcast. Lea...
Measure Everything: Ark of Commerce Part 5
April 19, 2020 00:37 - 1 hourAn unknown man in a forgotten office develops a number that makes and breaks Presidents. A poet turns his song towards a metal object. Two 19th century men tire themselves out making machines. They can't know their work will one day put us on the Moon And a man tries to invent an un-commerce, but may have built the 21st century economy instead. In the fifth episode of our series on American commerce, we look at the appraisal and measuring and counting of business. Learn more about your ad ch...
Make It Stop: When Commerce Stopped (Ark of Commerce Part 4 Replay)
April 18, 2020 22:57 - 1 hourWhen we aired this last year, the topic of commerce shutting down did not seem timely. Thus a re-run of our fourth of a series on American commerce, a look at three instances of when U.S. commerce was stopped seems appropriate. From an offensive war effort, to a bid for peace, to a management of peacetime. And we look at the effects of those interventions. The embargo of 1807 is an important part of the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, not often examined in detailed compared to other events. L...
Truman, the Marshall Plan and the 1948 Election w/ A.J. Baime
April 02, 2020 19:35 - 1 hourA look at Truman,, the Marshall Plan and the 1948 Election. Why Truman thought he won, and why his opponent Dewey thought he ended up losing. How he pulled it off. With A.J. Baime, author of Dewey Beats Truman. This is A.J. Baime's second appearance on the podcast. Big national projects, big sacrifice and an incumbent President up for election all figure in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stop Carter: A Story of 1976 Politics
March 23, 2020 17:00 - 38 minutesThe last-minute bid of California Governor Jerry Brown to unseat Jimmy Carter's nomination raised a lot of questions about politics that are still present today. Should electability be a factor among primary voters? Can you out-new the new candidate? What time is the right time for candidates to 'get out' Should critics shut up to help a nominee in the general or speak their mind? This, and the surprising figure still very much in politics today who tried to Stop Carter. Learn more about yo...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - The 3 Words That Changed Presidential History
March 18, 2020 19:32 - 30 minutesIn this episode we look at a historic campaign episode and try to solve a mystery of history of the 1884 election. Did GOP candidate Blaine hear the bigoted comments of a supporter, or didn't he? We also get an insider's view from a adept political reporter of how the other side jumped on the political opportunity created by the unfortunate comments of a reverend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Swan Events: Democratic Debates, COVID19 and Other Topics w/ Chris Novembrino of Don't Worry About the Government Podcast
March 15, 2020 01:03 - 1 hour - 87.9 MBBig discussion with Chris Novembrino of Don't Worry About the Government Podcast. The Democratic campaign started with over 20 people but ended up in a retro pattern of two candidates by March, a virus has entered politics, an incumbent is up for re-election. What does it all mean?
The Spanish Flu of 1918 and Its Aftermath - Conversation with Laura Spinney
March 02, 2020 17:00 - 37 minutesWe speak with Laura Spinney, science journalist and author of "Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World" and discuss the dreadful disease that claimed 50-100 million lives, more than the Great War that preceded it. The so-called 'Spanish Flu' caused global damage but also caused scientists to reflect and develop bettter science and public health strategies. But how much have we learned those lessons? We discuss these topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
Iowa, Impeachment and the Universe
February 02, 2020 18:07 - 45 minutesA stubborn impeached governor, odd caucus locations, real estate and politics. Bruce talks about the Iowa Caucus, how it works, changes in 2020, its history and influence and what things look like this year. Impeachment and the current universe of politics in the United States. He finds a silver lining in the whole impeachment discussion, and discuss impeachment and political fallout, and Trump's chances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Too Minnesota Nice - Examining 1968 Even Closer
February 02, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesThe scandal at the end of the 1968 election - the Chennault affair was obscure in history but recently has been examined in great detail. We look at one component - simply why Hubert Humphrey, Democratic candidate that had information about Nixon's actions, didn't reveal it? One explanation we don't buy, nor do Humphrey's friends - he was too Minnesota Nice to reveal what he knew. This belies what Humphrey did know exactly and what LBJ had held back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Skokie, Neo-Nazis and Free Speech
January 24, 2020 17:00 - 36 minutesIn the wake of the events of Charlottesville, a look at the Neo Nazi rally in Skokie, IL in 1977 and the resulting Supreme Court Case and the ACLU's role. In recent days Skokie has been brought up; and a look at the history of events is useful. We look at Louis Brandeis's great speech on the First Amendment, Chief Justice Robert's view of it recently, Alito's other take. Finally Bruce wonders about the consequences of these rights in a social media world. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...