Music historian Ted Gioia joins us to talk about the outsiders that pushed music forward, throughout history.
Read more
Steve Inskeep On America’s First Power Couple
Steve Inskeep, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First, joins us to talk about the most famous trailblazing political couple you’ve likely never heard of.
Read more
How American History Varies By State
Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times, joins us to talk about how a comparison of history textbooks from two states highlights how each state frames history to fit its political climate.
Read more
Does Your Horoscope Add Up? The Math Of Astrology
Data scientist Alexander Boxer talks about the ancient applied mathematics of astrology conceived by some of history’s most brilliant minds.
Read more
The Pioneers Who Pushed America West
H.W. Brands, Jack S. Blanton, Sr. chair in history at the University of Texas at Austin, join us to talk about the perseverance of the pioneers who set out for the American West.
Read more
Why The Civil War Was Bloodiest At Its End
S.C. Gwynne joins us to talk about how an increase in violence in the war’s final year actually helped bring it to a close.
Read more
The Epidemics That Changed The World
Frank M. Snowden, the Andrew Downey Orrick Professor Emeritus of History and History of Medicine at Yale University, joins us to talk about how infectious outbreaks — both terrifying and romanticized — have shaped our world.
Read more
We Need To Update Our Definition Of ‘War’
Tanisha M. Fazal, associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, joins us to talk about how a belief that modern war is tapering off is a dangerous falsehood.
Read more
Susan Rice On Benghazi, Iran And Handing The Keys To The Trump Administration
Former national security adviser and UN ambassador Susan E. Rice joins us to talk about everything from her family’s history of enslavement, to her own privilege and power, to her headline-making policy decisions that still define America’s reach today.
Read more
Melinda Gates On Empowering Women
Melinda Gates joins us to make the case that providing opportunities to women is the key to bettering society as a whole.
Read more
The Indian Children Stolen By The Federal Government
Nick Estes, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, joins us to talk about how generations of tribes grapple with the brutal legacy of trauma inflicted by the U.S. government on Native American children.
Read more
The Bloody History Of Thanksgiving
David J. Silverman joins us to talk about how peace between the Wamanoag tribe and Plymouth pilgrims finally dissolved – and about how we should look at the time period through the eyes of the indigenous people involved.
Read more