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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

49:25

#327 Mark Mustian and the Boy With Wings

The Road to Now ·

2025/02/10

What does it mean to be different? This is the question Bob explores with author and President of the Word of South book and music festival, Mark Mustian, as they discuss his new historical-fiction novel, "The Boy with Wings." Set against the backdrop of a traveling freak show in the American South during the 1930s, the narrative follows the poignant journey of Johnny Cruel, a young man born with a distinctive birthmark that renders him an outcast. Historical fiction is a rarity on The Road to Now,

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46:30

The History of Denver and the Wild West w/ Dick Kreck

The Road to Now ·

2025/02/03

This week, we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations! During a past trip to Denver, Bob and Ben had the privilege of sitting down with journalist and historian Dick Kreck at the historic Brown Palace Hotel to discuss the fascinating history of Denver and its development in the 19th and early 20th centuries. With more than four decades of experience as a reporter for The San Francisco Examiner, The LA Times, and The Denver Post, Kreck has also published numerous books on the history of

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01:05:56

#326 Politics and Society in Middle Earth: The Lord...

The Road to Now ·

2025/01/27

This week, we welcome back to the program the Director of the Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at Winthrop University, Dr. Scott Huffmon. We usually have Dr. Huffmon on to discuss the prestigious Winthrop Poll, known as the most reliable and comprehensive poll regarding issues and politics in South Carolina. Today, however, Dr. Huffmon joins us to discuss a fascinating class he teaches: Politics and Society in Middle Earth: The Lord of the Rings. What can Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy,

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51:46

#325 In Defense of Partisanship w/ Julian Zelizer

The Road to Now ·

2025/01/20

Partisanship. What is it good for? Most people these days would say, “Absolutely nothing.” Julian Zelizer might reply, “Not so fast.” This week on the Road to Now we welcome backt to the show the Malcom Stevenson Forbes Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and CNN Political Analyst, Julian Zelizer to discuss his new book, In Defense of Partisanship. Zelizer argues that partisanship is not inherently detrimental to democracy. Instead, he contends that a healthy and

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48:39

Gerd Schroth: From Child of Nazi Germany to American...

The Road to Now ·

2025/01/13

The Nazi regime that came to power in Germany in 1933 unleashed the most brutal and comprehensive war that humanity has ever seen. The horrors of the Nazis and the destruction they left behind is something most of us learned about in history class, but for Gerd Schroth it is the story of his childhood. Born in Germany in 1938, Gerd came of age on the scorched earth left behind by the German war machine. Gerd’s father had joined the Nazi party because he thought Hitler could restore Germany’s

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01:27:27

#324 Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician w/...

The Road to Now ·

2025/01/06

Martin Van Buren served just one term as President from 1837 to 1841, but as the architect behind the founding of the Democratic Party, his legacy lives on in the US today. In this episode, we speak with James M. Bradley, author of the new book Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician, to learn how Van Buren helped reshape politics in the 19th century and laid the groundwork for America’s two-party system. You can learn more about the work being done to preserve the papers of Martin Van Buren

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48:20

#323 In With The New (2025) w/ Ben & Bob

The Road to Now ·

2025/01/01

Ben & Bob recap 2024, what they learned this year and what might be in store for 2025. Happy New Year! This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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31:48

The History of Santa Claus & Christmas Around the...

The Road to Now ·

2024/12/23

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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01:05:34

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

The Road to Now ·

2024/12/17

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 is a rebroadcast of episode 292 which originally aired on December 11, 2023. This reair was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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53:08

#322 Mitch McConnell: The Price of Power w/ Michael...

The Road to Now ·

2024/12/09

Journalist Michael Tackett joins Ben & Bob to discuss his new book The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America and Lost his Party (Simon & Schuster, 2024). Tackett, who wrote the biography with McConnell’s consent, was granted unprecedented access to McConnell’s vast personal archives, his staff, and even the Senator himself, who sat for about 50 hours of interviews. If you’ve ever wondered how Mitch McConnell rose to power, how he's stayed there despite challenges

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01:02:22

#321 The Circus Continues w/ Mark McKinnon

The Road to Now ·

2024/12/03

Mark McKinnon is former chief media advisor to George W. Bush & John McCain, cocreator of Showtime’s The Circus, and current writer at Vanity Fair. In this episode, he joins Ben & Bob to recap the 2024 election and what they think might come next. Click here to read Mark’s “An Open Letter to My Daughter,” published November 6, 2024 in Vanity Fair. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

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01:03:27

Miss America's Secret Past w/ Amy Argetsinger

The Road to Now ·

2024/11/25

The Miss America pageant has always had its critics, but the stories of the organization and those who participated in it are far more dynamic than most people recognize. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Amy Argetsinger whose new book There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America explains Miss America’s origins, how the pageant both shaped and was shaped by American society, and why it might be okay that the pageant’s significance in American culture has faded. Bonus: Bob calls Miss USA

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54:33

#320 James Armistead Lafayette w/ Stephen Seals

The Road to Now ·

2024/11/18

James Armistead Lafayette lived a remarkable life. After being granted permission by his enslaver to enlist in the cause, James joined up with the Marquis de Lafayette and served as one of the most important spies in the Revolutionary war. After many years of petitioning for his freedom, James eventually gained his freedom and officially changed his last name to Lafayette after the Frenchman with which he served and who later petitioned Congress for James’ freedom. In this episode, we learn more

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51:24

#319 Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn w/...

The Road to Now ·

2024/11/11

Did you know that Woodrow Wilson didn’t have a regular job until he was 28 years old? Or that he didn’t complete all the requirements for a PhD? After retiring from politics in 2009, former Congressman and Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Christopher Cox decided to turn to history. The result is his new book, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn, which gives special attention to Wilson's views on race and women's rights, presenting the 28thPresident as “a man superbly unsuited to the moment

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01:25:26

#318 Colombia, the US and the War on Drugs w/ Lina...

The Road to Now ·

2024/11/04

Most Americans are aware of Colombia’s role in the international drug trade, but we know less about the role that Americans’ played in the story as consumers, smuggling pioneers, and practitioners of a foreign policy that facilitated the rise of Colombian drug production. In this episode, journalist and historian Lina Britto shares the fascinating story of how Colombia emerged as a major supplier of drugs to American consumers and how this relationship affected people in both countries. She also

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01:26:05

#317 US Immigration Policy w/ Yael Schacher

The Road to Now ·

2024/10/28

US immigration policy has become one of the most contentious issues in American politics, but there is one point on which most of us agree: our immigration policy is broken. And while the sheer number of interests involved mean that an easy fix is unlikely, the best place to start is with a sound understanding of how we got the immigration system we have today. As a historian of immigration who currently serves as Director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International, Yael Schacher has a

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55:48

The Epidemic Episode

The Road to Now ·

2024/10/21

It’s flu season, so this week on the show, we’re bringing you something seasonal: a history of epidemics in two parts. In part 1, we talk about the 1918 influenza outbreak with John Barry, author of the NY Times Best-seller Seller The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History (Penguin, 2005). And in part 2 we dig into the history of infectious disease with epidemiologist Erin Welsh, co-host of This Podcast Will Kill You. This episode is a supercut of #120 The History of

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52:34

The Electoral College w/ Edward Foley

The Road to Now ·

2024/10/14

The Constitution empowers the electoral college to select the President, but the process for counting electors’ votes remains in the hands of Congress. In this episode, Constitutional Law Professor Edward Foley explains the origins of the electoral college, how and why the 12th Amendment changed the process for electing Presidents, and the concerns that led Congress to codify the procedure for counting electors’ votes in 1887. Edward also offers some specific ways that updating the Electoral Count

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52:02

#316 The Women Who Shaped the White House in the 20th...

The Road to Now ·

2024/10/07

Most accounts of women in mid-20th century American politics highlight trailblazers such as Frances Perkins or the handful of women elected to Congress in those years. But women’s participation in politics- both as voters and as party activists- was far more significant than most Americans realize, elevating a group of white middle-class women into positions of influence over Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Dwight Eisenhower. Melissa Blair joins Ben & Bob to talk about how and why these

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53:15

#315 America’s Most Violent Election w/ Dana Bash

The Road to Now ·

2024/09/30

On the surface, the election of 1872 might seem insignificant in US history; Ulysses Grant easily won reelection to the White House and his Republican Party maintained their dominance in both houses of Congress. In the south, however, the violence that followed the election at the state and local level was an ominous sign that the era of Reconstruction might soon be over. And, according to Dana Bash and her co-author David Fischer, nowhere saw more violence than Louisiana. In this episode, Dana

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