logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2025
40m 17s

Buying the Presidency

Ballen Studios
About this episode
Money and politics have always been intertwined in America, but before the days of Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg, there was Rockerfeller, Carnegie and Morgan, titans of industry whose political power may have become absolute if they hadn’t underestimated an upstart politician by the name of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. 
Up next
Sep 2025
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace
Marie Antoinette’s world renowned extravagance made her an icon and then an example as the Queen of France, but her beheading, and the French Revolution, may never have come to pass if not for a lavish piece of jewelry at the center of a salacious con. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad ... Show More
43m 57s
Sep 2025
The Man Who Saved the World
While The United States and The Soviet Union flirted with existential disaster on a global stage during the Cuban Missile Crisis, an unknown conflict was unfolding under the ocean on a Russian submarine equipped to trigger an all-out nuclear war. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ... Show More
39m 55s
Sep 2025
The Tornado that Saved DC
During the War of 1812, Washington DC was in the process of being destroyed by the British Army, until they came up against an even more powerful force: Mother Nature. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe ... Show More
42m 57s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
Boneheads
The Gilded Age was a time of opulence and opportunism, an age that turned businessmen into household names. But it also created some of the biggest rivalries in the rush to unearth the past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
28m 5s
Aug 2025
Teddy Roosevelt: The Original Bro
Before there were finance bros, tech bros, or even frat bros… there was Teddy Roosevelt. This week, we dive into how a sickly rich kid from Manhattan reinvented himself as a rough-and-tumble cowboy, a Rough Rider, and eventually a trust-busting progressive president who helped pu ... Show More
1h 10m
Feb 2021
The Business Plot: When Rich Fascists Almost Took Over America
In the early 1930s a consortium of America's wealthiest men conspires to overthrow President Roosevelt and institute a fascist state. This is the story of how they almost succeeded. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listene ... Show More
1h 22m
Feb 2021
Behind the Insurrections - The Business Plot: When Rich Fascists Almost Took Over America
<p>In the early 1930s a consortium of America's wealthiest men conspires to overthrow President Roosevelt and institute a fascist state. This is the story of how they almost succeeded.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com"> ... Show More
1h 15m
Nov 2023
Tammany Hall: America's Early Puppet Masters
It's no secret that politics can often have a dark side -- smoky backrooms, corruption and graft have always had their place in American history. And, amid all the corruption, few institutions are as infamous as Tammany Hall. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the or ... Show More
53m 39s
Aug 2024
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
<p>"Speak softly and carry a big stick."</p><br><p>The youngest President ever, Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, uncle to Eleanor Roosevelt, fifth cousin to FDR, and a keen huntsman; Theodore Roosevelt is consistently remembered as one of the United States' top 5 P ... Show More
45m 34s
Sep 2025
Leaders Who Shaped the Future
<p>Why does leadership matter, and how do small decisions ripple across the future? Dr. Roy begins with the hidden dangers of implicit bias, from medicine to global politics, before diving into the story of Theodore Roosevelt. From cowboy adventurer to America’s youngest presiden ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2024
Tevi Troy, "The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry" (Regnery History, 2024)
When U.S. presidents clash with corporate titans, what tips the balance of power? In The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry (Regnery History, 2024), acclaimed presidential historian Tevi Troy takes readers on a riveting journe ... Show More
42m 28s
Aug 2024
President Theodore Roosevelt
<p>What kind of a nickname is Bull Moose? How progressive was Theodore Roosevelt's presidency? And how does his legacy live on?</p><br><p>Don is joined once again by Michael Patrick Cullinane, historian of American politics, an award-winning author, and the Lowman Walton Chair of ... Show More
41m 22s
Jul 2024
How US Presidents Manage Money
Reagan knew how to budget. Jefferson knew how to party. Megan Gorman is the author of the upcoming book, “All the Presidents' Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money.” Gorman is also the founding partner of Chequers Financial Management Robert Brokamp caught ... Show More
29m 9s