“It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.”
This is the story of the lesser-known aspects of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency–the events outside of World War I.
The Progressive Era is still in full force as Woodrow Wilson enters the White House. Amid constitutional amendments 16 and 17, Woodrow continues to car ... Show More
Jun 30
182: A Prologue to World War II: US Army Interwar Preparation
This is the story of interwar preparation–not that the United States realized it was preparing for World War II, new technologies, innovation, and a constant pushing of the limits in the 1930s did indeed help Uncle Sam prepare for the fight to come. To get us into an interwar min ... Show More
49m 50s
Jun 16
181: American Aviation: The Growth of the Industry Through the Eyes of Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Howard Hughes
“If he is lost it will be the most universally regretted single loss we ever had. But that kid ain’t going to fail.” This is the story of the high-fliers in early twentieth-century American aviation. Wright brothers Orville and Wilbur stunned the nation and the world with their p ... Show More
1h 8m
Jun 2
180: “A Race to the Sky”: The Rise of New York City’s Chrysler, Manhattan Company, and Empire State Buildings
“If this is to be a skyscraper… why not make it scrape the sky.” This is the story of the race for the tallest building in New York City—in the world. Erstwhile partners-turned-bitter rivals, architects William Van Alen and Craig Severance are both looking to build the tallest sk ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2008
Christopher Capozzola, “Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of The Modern American Citizen” (Oxford UP, 2008)
I confess I sometimes wonder where we got in the habit of proclaiming, usually with some sort of righteous indignation, that we have the “right” to this or that as citizens. I know that the political theorists of the eighteenth century wrote a lot about “rights,” and that “rights ... Show More
1h 7m
Nov 2020
Paul Jankowski, "All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War" (Harper, 2020)
In his latest monograph, All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and The Origins of the Second World War (Harper, 2020), Professor Paul Jankowski (Brandeis University) provides a wide-angled account of a critical period of world history, the interwar years, in which the world tr ... Show More
50m 20s
Jan 2024
Prof. David Beito | FDR’s War on Civil Liberties.
Discover the untold impact of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency on civil liberties with Judge Andrew Napolitano, alongside Professor David Beito, discuss the historical intricacies of a leader celebrated for his charisma yet mired in controversy. Professor Beito, armed with ... Show More
28m 29s
Dec 2014
Charles F. Walker, “The Tupac Amaru Rebellion” (Harvard UP, 2014)
Charles F. Walker‘s book The Tupac Amaru Rebellion (Harvard University Press, 2014) charts the rise, fall, and legacy of a massive uprising in colonial Peru. Indigenous societies in the Andes labored under heavy taxes, tributes, and discrimination imposed by the Spanish imperial ... Show More
39m 23s