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PODCAST

Plodding Through The Presidents

Howard & Jessica Dorre

Join history blogger Howard Dorre and his wife Jessica Dorre for a deep irreverent dive into lesser-known stories of the early American presidents. They dig into the myths, mysteries, scandals, and drama of the founders and their families, with a dash of marital banter.

history improv

All Episodes

40:28

Joseph Ellis & America’s Great Contradictions

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/10/28

We welcome Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Ellis to talk about his new book The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding, and what we can learn from the founders on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. Ellis also shares his disdain for “presentism” and his strong feelings about America’s present.Sign up for the free Plodding Substack newsletter at plodding.substack.com for a chance to win a copy of Ellis’s new book. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon

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45:21

Bringing Eliza Home

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/10/16

How did Eliza Monroe Hay, unofficial first lady and daughter of fifth president James Monroe, end up buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris? We welcome author Barbara VornDick to share her incredible story of researching Eliza, pushing back on her historically bossy reputation, and working to bring her home. Check out “Eliza's True Story: The First Biography of President Monroe's Eldest Daughter” by Barbara VornDick:

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18:00

Thomas Jefferson's Swordfish Treason

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/09/25

We dig into the origins of the story that Thomas Jefferson once shot a man for treason on the White House lawn, made popular by the 2001 film Swordfish. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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54:09

Theodore Roosevelt and the Piranhas of Doubt

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/09/09

We dive into the real story of Theodore Roosevelt’s encounters with piranhas in the Amazon, his impact on the ferocious reputation of the fish, and how one fishmonger titan—Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod—turned a fish story into a whopper about a cow. Stick around for a piranha survival quiz that just might save your skin. Sources include Candice Millard’s excellent book The River of Doubt, Roosevelt’s Through The Brazilian Wilderness, and The Star-Ledger’s impressive investigative work on Axelrod. Find

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23:25

Benjamin Franklin's Glass Armonica

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/08/19

In this story from the archives, we look at the haunting sounds and even more haunting history of Benjamin Franklin’s favorite invention: the glass armonica. For more information about Mayling Garcia visit maylinggarcia.com Learn more about William Zeitler at williamzeitler.com (William Zeitler’s music used with his permission.) Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at

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45:45

A Tale of Two Cheeses

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/08/06

We dig into the stories behind two giant cheeses gifted to Presidents: First, the Mammoth Cheese presented to Thomas Jefferson in 1802 by Elder John Leland, and then an even bigger cheese made for Andrew Jackson. It’s a story of human ingenuity, religious freedom, chaos, and democracy. With a little old-school cheddar and sherry. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at

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42:36

Presidents vs. Sharks

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/07/22

Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the film Jaws, we dig into the most notable encounters between presidents and sharks—from John Adams on the Atlantic to JFK in the Pacific. Then we look at the shark attacks in July 1916 in New Jersey that caused America’s first shark panic and forced Woodrow Wilson to declare a war on sharks.Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at

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27:52

Presenting History Dispatches: Billy Possum

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/07/01

We're excited to share an episode of the daily podcast History Dispatches, hosted by Matt and McKinley Breen, where Howard is the special guest talking about one of his favorite topics: Billy Possum, the stuffed toy that failed to dethrone the popular Teddy Bear. Smithsonian Article: "How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America’s National Toy" by Howard Dorre -

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22:19

AI vs. The Founders

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/06/17

We look at how Artificial Intelligence is waging a sophisticated attack on historical sources—the very sources we depend on for our research—and why we can't count on the government to save us.Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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36:21

The Wrestling Legacy of Abraham Lincoln

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/06/04

We pin down the truth behind the tall tales of Abraham Lincoln’s reputation as a Hall of Fame wrestler credited with inventing the chokeslam. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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47:15

The Death and Balls of William Henry Harrison

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/05/21

We look into the giant victory balls that kept on rolling during William Henry Harrison’s 1840 presidential campaign. Then we welcome Jerry Landry of the Presidencies of the United States podcast to talk about Harrison’s rise to fame and the most likely explanation for his death just one month into his term. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch—including our William Henry Harrison: For A Good Time Not

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52:26

Tecumseh's Curse

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/05/06

We dig into the eerie presidential death cycle known as Tecumseh’s Curse or the Zero-Year Curse. Tracing the origins of the legend to Native American revenge, planetary alignment, and even Satan, we look at the facts and fantasies behind this pattern—and how it had a real-life impact on the presidency. Find out more at plodpod.com and send your local lore to ploddingthrough@gmail.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at

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43:33

Sarah Shelton Henry and the Scotchtown Basement

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/04/15

We dig into the truth and lore about the mysterious life and death of Sarah Shelton Henry, Patrick Henry’s wife—a woman who suffered from mental illness and was confined in the basement of their home in Beaverdam, Virginia. This local lore was suggested by our listener Klayr. An essential source in putting this episode together was the book "In Sickness and in Health: The Marriage of Patrick Henry and Sarah Shelton" by Mark Couvillon. Find out more at plodpod.com and send your local lore to

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62:27

Unbusting the Cherry Tree Myth

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/04/02

We welcome James Bish and Dr. Richard Gardiner to talk about why they strongly believe the story of George Washington and his father’s cherry tree is not a myth—and that the real myth is that the story has been firmly debunked. James Bish is the author of I Can't Tell A Lie: Parson Weems and the Truth about George Washington's Cherry Tree, Prayer at Valley Forge, and Other Anecdotes Bish and Gardiner cowrote a fascinating paper backing up their claims: An Analysis of the Scholarly Consensus

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49:13

Parson Weems & The Cherry Tree

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/03/18

In the first part of our deep dive into one of the greatest myths in American history, we explore Mason Locke Weems—the complex character behind the story of young George Washington taking a hatchet to his father's favorite cherry tree. Who was this book-peddling parson, and how did this story become so popular and so debunked?You'll definitely want to hear our next episode, too, where we talk with two men seeking to turn everything you know about this myth on its head. Find out more at

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30:53

The Return of Billy Possum

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/03/04

20 years after William Howard Taft’s famous possum and taters feast inspired the failed Billy Possum toy, a real live Billy Possum wandered into the annals of presidential—and baseball—history. This is his story.Check out our Season 4 episode "The Rise and Fall of Billy Possum" and Howard’s just-published article in Smithsonian Magazine about Billy Possum at

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39:06

The Great Presidential Pot Hoax

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/02/17

We kick off Season 6 with a deep dank dive into a hoax about the early presidents and cannabis that fooled a Surgeon General in 1971 and is still claiming victims today. It’s the straight dope on the relationship between hemp and presidents like George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at

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1:20

Season 6 Trailer

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/02/12

Season 6 premieres this Presidents Day, and it's focused on some of the biggest and weirdest myths in presidential history. From cherry trees to bath tubs, we're digging into the drama, personalities, and real stories behind these legends.Find out more at plodpod.com Consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices

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46:30

Presenting Historical Blindness: The Illuminati in...

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/01/31

During our hiatus ahead of Season 6, we're excited to share this fascinating episode of a podcast called Historical Blindness. In this episode, host Nathanial Lloyd digs into the conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati in America, including the role they played in the Election of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.Check out Historical Blindness at https://www.historicalblindness.com/ - including his latest on the legends surrounding Abraham Lincoln! Find out more at

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61:35

Presenting Presidencies of the United States - The...

Plodding Through The Presidents ·

2025/01/17

While we’re on hiatus before Season 6 debuts, we’re excited to share this episode of Presidencies of the United States, an excellent podcast hosted by our good friend Jerry Landry. Howard is Jerry’s guest on this special episode where they talked about one of Howard's favorite topics: the wild Election of 1800.Check out Presidencies of the United States at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com/ For information on how you can help folks affected by the California wildfires, check out

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