The Road to Now

54:23

#355 Money in American Politics w/ Jeff Clements

The Road to Now ·

2026/01/05

Worried about money in American politics? We are too, and Jeff Clements is offering up a solution. Jeff is CEO of American Promise, a non-partisan organization dedicated to passing the For Our Freedom amendment to the Constitution, which would differentiate between people and corporations, and allow states to pass their own campaign finance laws. In this episode, he breaks down the history of campaign finance laws, key moments, such as the Citizens United Case, that have brought us to where we are

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33:05

The History of Santa Claus & Christmas Culture w/...

The Road to Now ·

2025/12/22

It's Christmas time and this week we're resharing the original RTN Christmas Classic! Christmas expert James Cooper joins Bob and Ben to explain how Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and other Christmas traditions made their way into popular culture. He also shares stories of lesser known traditions, such as setting fire to the giant Swedish straw goat known as the Gävlebocken! You can find out more about the history of Santa Claus and Christmas at James Cooper's website WhyChristmas.com This is a

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46:08

#354 In Pursuit w/Anita McBride & Colleen Shogan

The Road to Now ·

2025/12/15

Anita McBride is one of the foremost experts on the legacy of American first ladies. Colleen Shogan served as the 11thArchivist of the United States. Together, they're bringing forward a new project called In Pursuit, which offers up a series of essays on Presidents and First Ladies by some of today's most accomplished historians and political leaders. In this episode, Anita and Colleen join Ben and Bob for a discussion about how the project came together, the exciting (and surprising) list of

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01:07:56

It's a Wonderful Life: The Story Behind America's...

The Road to Now ·

2025/12/08

Dr. Eric Smoodin, film historian at the University of California- Davis and author of Regarding Frank Capra: Audience, Celebrity and American Film Studies, 1930-1960, joins Bob and Ben for the history of the people, the industry, and law that made Frank Capra's 1946 film It's A Wonderful Life into one of America's quintessential Christmas films. This episode originally aired as #292 on December 16, 2024. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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52:32

America's First War on Christmas w/ Bruce Carlson

The Road to Now ·

2025/12/01

On December 25, 1776, George Washington and his men celebrated their first post-Declaration of Independence Christmas by crossing a freezing river to mount a surprise attack against their enemies. The plan worked, but almost 250 years later the story of Washington crossing the Delaware might surprise you too. In this episode, RTN favorite Bruce Carlson of My History Can Beat Up Your Politics joins Bob & Ben for a conversation about one of the US's most recognized, yet little-known battles and how it

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54:08

How John Adams Defined the Presidency w/ Lindsay...

The Road to Now ·

2025/11/24

John Adams' single term as President has long been cast as a low point in his political career, but Lindsay Chervinsky sees it differently. "George Washington created the Presidency," she writes in her new book Making the Presidency, "but John Adams defined it." In this episode, Lindsay joins us to share why she sees Adams as a crucial figure in transforming an office that had been established for, and created by, George Washington, into a position with the customs and practices that could be

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51:55

Americana w/ Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

The Road to Now ·

2025/11/17

What is Americana music? Is it a genre? A community? A refuge? Twenty four years after the founding of the Americana Music Association and thirteen years since the first Grammy was awarded for Best Americana Album, defining "Americana" remains tricky. In our experience, the most common answer has been "you know it when you hear it." However you define it, however, there is one thing everyone agrees on: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell are Americana legends. In this episode, recorded in front of

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55:46

#353 The American Revolution w/ Sarah Botstein &...

The Road to Now ·

2025/11/10

A decade after Ken Burns decided it was time to take on the American Revolution, the film is finished and premieres on your local PBS station on Sunday, November 16! In this episode, we talk with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, who directed the six-part series alongside Burns, to find out more about the stories and process that they used to construct this remarkable look at one of history's most fascinating and consequential events. Click here to find out more about The American Revolution: A

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57:58

#352 Wakara's America w/ Max Perry Mueller

The Road to Now ·

2025/11/03

Wakara was a Ute leader whose power stretched across western North America long before the US claimed the land on which he lived. In this episode, Max Perry Mueller joins us to discuss his new book, Wakara's America: The Life & Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West, and how a story of the west that excludes Native peoples leaves us with an incomplete and often dishonest account of US history. Dr. Max Perry Mueller is Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies

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01:02:44

#351 A History of the American Bookstore w/ Evan Friss

The Road to Now ·

2025/10/27

America's bookstores have always been about more than just books, but the role they play in American society has changed over the years. In this episode, Evan Friss joins us for a conversation about his New York Times Bestseller, The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore (Viking, 2023), and the unique place that bookstores – and those who operate them – have held in American society from the colonial era to our own. Dr. Evan Friss is Professor of History at James Madison University and the

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55:23

#350 The Pursuit of Liberty w/ Jeffrey Rosen

The Road to Now ·

2025/10/20

National Constitution Center President & CEO Jeffrey Rosen returns to the show to discuss his new book The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America, and the ways that the contrasting visions of the founders live on in our political debates today. Make sure to check out the National Constitution Center’s website for links to the Interactive Constitution and the many excellent resources they offer for free. If you enjoyed this episode, you

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53:35

#349 Teaching History Roundtable

The Road to Now ·

2025/10/13

Teaching history to a middle schooler is a very different task than teaching a university student, but those doing the teaching have a lot in common (and could probably learn a lot from each other). In this episode, recorded as part of a live event sponsored by the Tennessee Council for History Education, Ben is joined by his MTSU colleague (and friend of the show) Andy Polk, 6th grade teacher Rupa Charles, and high school teacher Brandon Eldridge, for a conversation about what it’s like to teach

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58:21

#348 Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer w/ Jake Tapper

The Road to Now ·

2025/10/06

The War on Terror that followed the 9/11 attacks took place on battlefields across the globe, but it also took place in our legal system. In this episode, CNN’s Jake Tapper joins us to discuss his new book, Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War, and how dedicated public servants saved countless lives by bringing a terrorist to justice. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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01:03:48

An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War w/...

The Road to Now ·

2025/09/29

The American Civil War and the end of slavery in the US may seem like one and the same from our modern perspective, but for those living through the conflict, the abolition of human bondage was anything but certain. Even into the last days of the war, slave traders in Confederate-held cities continued to auction off human beings, realizing handsome profits as they imposed violence and family separation on their subjects. In his new book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South,

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53:43

#347 A Graphic History of the Civil War w/ Andrew...

The Road to Now ·

2025/09/22

Guerilla violence in the American Civil War was once considered a fringe topic of study, but the scale of the violence and its impact on society had a tremendous impact on the US during and after the conflict. In this episode, we speak with historian Andrew Fialka and illustrator Anderson Carmen about their new book, Hope Never to See It: A Graphic History of Guerilla Violence during the American Civil War (University of Georgia Press), how new approaches to the Civil War allow us to reimagine one

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56:49

#346 A Forgotten History of Chinese Life in the...

The Road to Now ·

2025/09/15

Chinese immigrants helped establish America’s foothold on the western coast, yet few of us know what life looked like for those Chinese people who came to live in the US. In this episode, Beth Lew-Williams joins us to discuss her new book, John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law, which blends extensive archival research with new technologies to illuminate stories that have long been buried in our history. Beth Lew-Williams is Professor of History at Harvard

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57:45

#345 How the Globalization Gamble Went Wrong w/ David...

The Road to Now ·

2025/09/08

Washington Post Global Economics Correspondent David J. Lynch joins Ben & Bob for a discussion about his new book The World’s Worst Bet: How the Globalization Gamble Went Wrong (and What Would Make it Right) (Public Affairs, 2025). David has a unique perspective on globalization; first as a journalist who has spent the last four decades covering the global economy for some of America’s most influential media outlets, and now as an analyst of how the optimism of the 1990s turned to the pessimism of

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46:35

How the American Dream Became Temporary w/ Louis Hyman

The Road to Now ·

2025/09/01

It’s Labor Day, so we’re sharing one of our favorite conversations on the history of labor in the US- our 2018 conversation with Louis Hyman on his book Temp: The Real Story of What Happened to Your Salary, Benefits & Job Security. We hope you have a great holiday! This episode originally aired as episode 103 on August 18, 2018. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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59:55

#344 The Last Forty Years of American Politics w/ Joe...

The Road to Now ·

2025/08/25

Joe Lockhart served as White House Press Secretary for President Bill Clinton from 1998-2000, and played central roles in Presidential campaigns from Walter Mondale to John Kerry. In this episode, Joe joins us to recap how the political landscape has changed since the 1980s and the paths that Democrats might pursue in their efforts to escape the political wilderness. This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher

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01:00:11

Mourning the Presidents w/ Lindsay Chervinsky

The Road to Now ·

2025/08/18

A Presidency is defined by the decisions that a person makes while serving as Executive, but a Presidential legacy is about much more than that. In Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, (UVA Press, 2023)Lindsay Chervinsky and Matthew Costello have brought together a collection of chapters that explore the ways that mourning ceremonies, causes of death, and moments of passing impact the way that we remember a President at the time they die, and how new research and a more

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