podcasts

David A. Bell Discusses "American Exceptionalism" with the Professor Buzzkill Podcast

"Dr. David Bell relates the long and strange history of the concept of “American Exceptionalism,” analyzing various interpretations of the phrase from the Puritan John Winthrop to President (and non-Puritan) Donald Trump."

British and Irish Historians Discuss Oliver Cromwell

Patrick Geoghegan talks all things Cromwell with a panel of historians. 

John Ganz and Lauren Stokes on the American Right's Hungary Hearts

Historian Lauren Stokes helps to explain the American right's embrace of Viktor Orban and the right-wing regime in Hungary. 

Podcast: Jelani Cobb on the Missed Lessons of the Kerner Commission

Cobb has edited a new annotated report of the Kerner Commission's findings, and argues that the report's unheeded recommendations are more important today than ever. 

The Freeing of the American Mind

Louis Menand joins Ezra Klein's podcast to discuss his new book and the intellectual history of the cold war era. 

'The Underground Railroad' and History: Eric Foner

Eric Foner discusses the historical background of the new series based on Colson Whitehead's novel. 

The Long Farewell to Majority Rule? (w/ Joshua Tait)

Matt and Sam talk to historian Joshua Tait about the intellectual origins of conservatives'—and the modern GOP's—hostility to majoritarian democracy.

Joe Biden Wants to Be Like Roosevelt. But Can He Get the Votes?

Jill Lepore and Jelani Cobb join New Yorker Editor David Remnick's podcast to discuss the prospects for an ambitious program of spending and public works. As Lepore says, “You can’t put F.D.R. in Dr. Who’s phone booth and bring him to 2021."

Peace Was on the Floor in 1916-17, but Wilson Failed to Pick it Up

by Burt Cohen

Burt Cohen discusses Philip Zelikow's book which argues that diplomatic failures by the great powers extended the first world war by two years and contributed to the catastrophes of fascism and Stalinism. 

Remaking Radicalism with Dan Berger and Emily M. Hobson

Historians Dan Berger and Emily Hobson discuss their new primary source anthology on grassroots social movements in the last quarter of the 20th century. 

Two Madison Profs Make 'Collegeland' Podcast About University Life

Historians Nan Enstad and Lisa Levenstein have produced a podcast that tells the stories of college campuses as places of learning, work, and socialization, seeking to counter both right-wing demonization of campus liberalism and the rose-colored view of university PR. 

My Family’s Long-Gone Texas Land Shows How Black Wealth Is Won and Lost

by Jacqueline Simmons

A host of the Pay Check podcast introduces a new season that will examine her family's history of landholding in Texas as a lens on the historical roots of the black-white wealth gap. 

Collars, Cuffs, and History Collaborations

Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young are the producers of the "Past/Present" podcast. Their new project "Welcome to Your Fantasy" looks at feminism and the sexual revolution through the cultural phenomenon of the Chippendales Dancers. Claire Potter interviews the trio about it.

How Rocky Presidential Transitions Have Shaped American History

Beverly Gage of Yale University explains how presidential transitions have tested the nation in the past. 

When Black Voters Went Blue

Leah Wright Rigeur discusses the process by which Black voters shifted from loyal Republicans to Democrats. 

How We Lie to Ourselves About History

At its best, the "You're Wrong About" podcast transcends fact-checking and debunking to ask why so many of the stories we know are wrong, and why they persist nevertheless. 

The Outsized Role of the President in Race Relations

Lindsay Chervinsky announces a new collaborative podast "The Past, The Promise, The Presidency" to offer an accessible understanding of racism and the presidency.

Ben Railton Joins "Keeping Democracy Alive" to Talk "Patriotic Education"

American Studies scholar Ben Railton discusses his upcoming book "Of Thee I Sing: The Contested History of American Patriotism" and the political hijacking of the patriotic ideal. 

Dr. Heather Cox Richardson: The 2020 Election and Beyond

Heather Cox Richardson joins host Keri Leigh Merritt to discuss the history behind the 2020 election, and more. 

“Nationalism Will Run Roughshod Over Democracy”: What Can Nazi Germany Tell Us About Trump’s GOP? (Podcast)

As Trump’s fearmongering, demonization, and threats of violence have invited comparisons to Hitler’s rise, historian Peter Fritzsche separates fact from exaggeration on "The Hive" podcast.