Doug J. Swanson, writing teacher at the University of Pittsburgh, member of Texas Institute of Letters and previous finalist for Pulitzer Prize, joins us to talk about separating legend from fact when it comes to the Texas Rangers.
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A Practical Guide To Fixing Our Democracy
David Litt, a speechwriter for President Obama, joins us to talk about how we became so disenfranchised and polarized – and about how we can address these issues.
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Madame Speaker: The Political Life Of Nancy Pelosi
Molly Ball, Time magazine’s national political correspondent and a political analyst for CNN, joins us to talk about Pelosi’s journey to becoming arguably the most influential woman in American political history.
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Meet The Formerly Enslaved Woman Who Secured Reparations
Rice University historian W. Caleb McDaniel joins us to tell the story of how Henrietta Wood ultimately sued and won the largest amount given in restitution for slavery.
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Why Debutantes Are Still A Thing
Kristen Richardson joins us to talk about what it is to become a debutante – and if the ritual still has a place in the 21st Century.
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The Trial And Error Of Evolution
Biologist Neil Shubin joins us to talk about the evolution of, well … evolution.
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Britain’s Long Road To Irrelevance
David Reynolds, professor of international history at Christ’s College, Cambridge and fellow of the British Academy, joins us to talk about Brexit in this historical context.
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A Vice-President’s Dream (Or Nightmare)
Jared Cohen, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins us to talk about the vice-presidents who rose to the occasion when the president they served under died – and the ones who didn’t.
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The Evolution Of Protests
Peniel E. Joseph, founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin, joins us to talk about how these protests resemble demonstrations of the Civil Rights era – and how social media and video footage have changed how people protest.
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Meet The Woman Pilots of WWII
Katherine Sharp Landdeck, associate professor of history at Texas Woman’s University and a Guggenheim Fellow at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, joins us to talk about these trailblazing female aviators.
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Science Denial Is Nothing New (Ask Galileo)
Mario Livio, astrophysicist and author, joins us to talk about Galileo Galilei, who revolutionized science and, because of it, endured condemnation and accusations of heresy.
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The Year Our World Became Global
Yale historian Valerie Hansen joins us to talk about the long, winding path to this modern life.
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