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PODCAST

The Road to Now

RTN Productions

Bob Crawford (The Avett Brothers) & Dr. Ben Sawyer (MTSU History) share conversations with great thinkers from a variety of backgrounds – historians, artists, legal scholars, political figures and more –who help us uncover the many roads that run between past and present. For more information, visit TheRoadToNow.com If you"d like to support our work, join us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheRoadToNow

history

All Episodes

01:25:32

#107 Laughing at Stalin: The Politics of Humor w/ Jon...

The Road to Now ·

2018/10/01

Bob and Ben speak with Jon Waterlow about his new book It’s Only a Joke Comrade! Humor, Trust and Everyday Life Under Stalin and the role humor plays in helping humans make sense of the world in even the darkest times. Jon also shares his take on humor’s role in politics under Stalin and today, the process he went through to uncover these jokes, and how the artistic technique of crosshatching helps us understand what it was like to live under the Stalinist system. He also discusses his decision to

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58:52

#106 Why You Should Vote w/ Andy Bernstein

The Road to Now ·

2018/09/24

National Voter Registration Day is Tuesday, September 25th, and Bob and Ben are doing their part to get the word out. In this episode we speak with HeadCount Executive Director Andy Bernstein to talk about the work HeadCount has been doing to get people registered to vote, the importance of staying on top of local and national politics, and why your vote counts. Since 2004, HeadCount has registered more than half a million voters by working with bands (including The Avett Brothers) to use their

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RTN Theology #5 Jeremy Begbie on Theology Of And...

The Road to Now ·

2018/09/17

This week Bob and Pastor Chris Breslin of Oak Church in Durham, NC sit down with Duke University, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology Jeremy Begbie for a discussion about how we can see God’s presence in our own creative expression. Begbie uses music to try and explain hard to grasp theological concepts like the trinity, as described in his 2018 Eerdmans release, Redeeming Transcendence in the Arts. This episode was recorded by Jeff Crawford at Arbor Ridge Studios in Chapel Hill,

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51:56

#105 Charlie Cook on the 2018 Midterm Elections

The Road to Now ·

2018/09/10

This week we take a deep dive into the upcoming Midterm Elections with Editor and Publisher of The Cook Political Report, and NBC News political analyst, Charlie Cook. Since 1984 Charlie has been the preeminent election forecaster for politicians, pundits, and political junkies alike. This week Charlie joins Bob for a one on one interview and helps to bring a historical perspective to the current state of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast

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01:12:38

#104 Bill Plante & Olivier Knox on Journalism and...

The Road to Now ·

2018/08/22

Veteran journalists Bill Plante & Olivier Knox join Bob & Ben for a conversation about the press and how journalism has changed in recent years. Bill Plante covered politics for CBS News from 1964 until 2016, and had a front row seat to some of the most significant events in the last half century, including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. Olivier Knox is the President of the White House Correspondents Association and the Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM, and has covered

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50:03

#103 How the American Dream Became Temporary w/ Louis...

The Road to Now ·

2018/08/20

“Make American Great Again” is not a precise slogan, but it did capture the sense of anxiety many Americans feel about work in the 21st century. The “gig economy,” in which more and more American workers rely on multiple jobs, is certainly different from the job market just three generations ago, when employers offered the stability of life-long employment and the promise of a pension-funded retirement. In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Cornell University’s Louis Hyman about the origins of the

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01:24:31

#102 Stand Up Comedy and Los Angeles w/ Pat Reilly

The Road to Now ·

2018/08/13

Ben talks with Sociologist Pat Reilly, whose research examines the organization and economics of stand up comedy in Los Angeles. Pat explains what makes stand up a unique form of entertainment, the ways stand up has changed since it began, and how comics deal with issues such as joke theft. Ben and Pat also talk about their own experiences as stand up comics, and the challenges of joining, being part of, and leaving a comedy scene. Pat Reilly is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Paul Merage

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01:09:58

#101 Nativism in American Politics w/ David Bennett

The Road to Now ·

2018/07/30

Bob & Ben speak with Syracuse University’s Dr. David Bennett to learn more about the history of nativism in the United States. Dr. Bennett discusses his book The Party of Fear: From Nativist Movements to the New Right in American History (Penguin, 1995, 2nd ed.), and how that book might look if a new edition were published today. The Road to Now is a member of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this episode and all others, check out our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com

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40:22

#100 RTN One Hundred

The Road to Now ·

2018/07/23

A lot has changed since the first episode of The Road to Now launched in May 2016, so Bob and Ben decided to spend some time reflecting on the podcast, the state of politics, and what they’ve learned about history. Bob explains what he thinks most people get wrong about history and the way that hosting RTN and beginning graduate studies have changed his relationship to history, Ben gives his insight on the current state of the US-Russian relationship and why he thinks nostalgia is a big part of the

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51:22

RTN Theology #4: Kutter Callaway on Reconstructing...

The Road to Now ·

2018/07/16

RTN Theology now is now on its own podcast feed! Subscribe anywhere you get The Road to Now for RTN Theology episodes 12-19 and more! In this episode of RTN Theology, Bob talks to Fuller Theological Seminary Assistant Professor Kutter Callaway about his new book, Breaking the Marriage Idol: Reconstructing Our Cultural and Spiritual Norms (InterVarsity Press, 2018) and the need to change the existing perceptions of single life and marriage in the church. They also discuss theology, the arts, and the

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49:19

BONUS: Elvis Presley & America (from My History Can...

The Road to Now ·

2018/07/09

Last fall, our good friend and fellow podcaster Bruce Carlson invited Ben to join him for a conversation about Elvis Presley and his impact on American society. During the conversation, Bob told an epic story about his Elvis Presley t-shirt that has never been told on The Road to Now.....until now (and Ben thinks it's one of the best stories Bob's ever told)! We'll be back next week with an all-new RTN Theology! This episode originally aired on My History Can Beat Up Your Politics on August 15,

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01:08:30

#99 The History & Politics of the World Cup w/ Alex...

The Road to Now ·

2018/06/18

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is underway in Russia, so Ben sat down with soccer historian Alex Galarza and RTN favorite Matt Negrin to talk about the history of the World Cup. We discuss the corruption that has plagued FIFA, the controversy surrounding FIFA’s decision to award the World Cup to Qatar, and what factors helped propel soccer into the world’s most popular sport. We also share some of our favorite experiences at soccer matches abroad and celebrate the recent announcement that the United

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50:03

#33 Jim Cornette on the History of Professional...

The Road to Now ·

2018/06/11

There’s a good chance you don’t appreciate how engrained professional wrestling is in American history and culture, and this episode is about to change that. We didn’t know all this either until wrestling legend Jim Cornette was kind enough to spend an hour taking us from wrestling’s origins in the late 19th century up to the sport as it exists today. Jim knows the sport like no other- he’s been part of the professional wrestling scene since the 1970s, and currently hosts the tremendously popular

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49:11

#98 Dwight Eisenhower & US Foreign Intervention in...

The Road to Now ·

2018/06/04

The world we live in today has Dwight Eisenhower’s fingerprints all over it. When Dwight Eisenhower gave his farewell address on January 17, 1960, he warned the American people of the growing influence of a “military-industrial complex.” What few people remember is that it was Eisenhower who oversaw the transformation of the American military into the large-scale force that spans the globe. “Ike” also helped facilitate the ceasefire in Korea that remains in place over six decades later, and his

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36:44

#97 Songs of Social Justice w/ Governor Martin O’Malley

The Road to Now ·

2018/05/28

In this episode of The Road to Now, recorded live at Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, Governor Martin O’Malley join Bob & Ben for a conversation about history, music and politics. We discuss the history of immigration, how Gov. O’Malley’s Catholic faith influenced his political views, and Gov. O’Malley shares (and plays) some of the songs that have had the strongest impact on his life. Martin O’Malley has served as Governor of Maryland (2007-2015), Mayor of Baltimore

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01:03:20

#96 Tyler Mahan Coe on Podcasting the History of...

The Road to Now ·

2018/05/21

For the third installment of our Music May series, Ben caught up with Tyler Mahan Coe whose podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones dives into some of the most famous stories in the history of country music. As a musician and son of country legend David Allan Coe, Tyler’s own history is part of that story, but his ability to take the best of his own experiences while remaining objective in the subjects he covers is outstanding. Tyler talks about the calling that drove him to make Cocaine & Rhinestones, the

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01:08:05

#95 Tom Marshall on Writing Phish and Everything Else

The Road to Now ·

2018/05/14

You may have heard Tom Marshall’s words even if you’ve never heard him speak. For the last four decades Tom has been the chief lyricist for the band Phish, which is one of the most successful touring bands in the world. Tom, however, does not tour with the band, and his position as the mysterious wordsmith for the band has spawned several online myths about Tom’s origins and his life accomplishments outside of Phish. In this episode, We talk with Phish lyricist Tom Marshall to learn about the

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54:30

#94 This Episode Kills Fascists: The Life & Legacy of...

The Road to Now ·

2018/05/07

Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” is one of the well-known tunes in the United States, but the song, and the man who wrote it, are far more complex and fascinating than most folks realize. Born in Oklahoma in 1912, Woody moved west during the Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s and witnessed first-hand the tragedy that was the Great Depression. A self-proclaimed “common-ist,” Woody dedicated his life to documenting the experiences of his generation and using his platform as a nationally-recognized

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58:58

#93 Woodrow Wilson & Presidential Morality w/...

The Road to Now ·

2018/04/30

On The Road to Now, we talk a lot about how understanding history is essential to making informed political decisions. In today’s episode, Patricia O’Toole joins us to talk about what happened when a historian got control of the White House. O’Toole’s new biography The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made (Simon & Schuster, 2018) examines the life of a President whose policy was guided by his personal sense of morality. From today’s perspective, Woodrow Wilson’s time in the White House

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22:13

Catching Up: Sean Foley on Syria and the Middle East

The Road to Now ·

2018/04/27

In episode 53, we spoke with Sean Foley about Syria and the historic forces at work in the Syrian Civil War. A lot has changed since we first spoke with Sean in April of 2017, so we asked him to come back to catch us up on the Syrian Civil War, where Isis, Assad and other players currently stand, and the implications of Donald Trump’s sudden reversal on American intervention in the conflict. The live map of Syria that Sean mentions in this episode can be found at https://syria.liveuamap.com/ Check

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