Now & Then

Alcohol in American Politics

Listen Later

Following the news of Rudy Giuliani’s inebriated advice to Donald Trump on election night, Heather and Joanne dive into the historical role of alcohol in American politics. How have the norms around alcohol shifted — and how has that impacted our history?

Heather and Joanne cover Franklin Pierce’s alcoholism, Warren Harding’s Prohibition-era hypocrisy, and the 1970s reckonings over alcohol in Congress. 

Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history

For more historical analysis of current events, sign up for the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, featuring Time Machine, a weekly article that dives into an historical event inspired by each episode of Now & Then: cafe.com/brief

Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Editorial Producer: David Kurlander; Audio Producer: Matthew Billy; Theme Music: Nat Weiner; CAFE Team: Adam Waller, David Tatasciore, Sam Ozer-Staton, Noa Azulai, and Jake Kaplan. Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS 

  • Dana Milbank, “Rudy Giuliani, drunk on conspiracy theories,” The Washington Post, 6/13/2022
  • Trish Bendix, “Late Night Blames It on the Alcohol,” New York Times, 6/14/2022
  • Cameron Joseph, “Trump’s Top Advisers Say Drunk Giuliani Urged Him to Declare Victory,” VICE, 6/13/2022

    • FRANKLIN PIERCE

    • Katherine Winton Evans, “Rebellious Spirits: Hard Liquor in Early America,” The Washington Post, 12/30/1979
    • Jacob Appel, “The Derailment of Franklin Pierce,” Hektoen International, 3/26/2021
    • Cromwell Whipple, “Mr. Whipple's address to the sober, moral and temperate men, of all parties!” Brown University, 10/22/1852
    • J. Childs, “Social Qualities of Our Candidate,” Library of Congress, 1852
    • “Franklin Pierce’s murky legacy as President,” National Constitution Center, 10/8/2021
    • “The Triumph and Tragedy of Franklin Pierce,” New England Historical Society, 2021
    • “President Franklin Pierce Warmly Endorses the Kansas-Nebraska Act as ‘Demonstrably Right and Patriotic,’” Shapell, 3/9/1854

      • WARREN HARDING

      • Warren Harding, “Address in Denver Colorado,” UCSB Presidency Project, 6/25/1923
      • Myra MacPherson, “'Princess' Alice Roosevelt Longworth,” The Washington Post, 2/21/1980
      • Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Crowded Hours, Archive.org, 1933
      • Aaron Killian, “Warren G. Harding: A Scandalous Presidency,” Historic America, 4/27/2021

        • THE RECKONING

        • Mark Kelly, “Ted Kennedy on the Rocks,” GQ, February 1st, 1991
        • Josh Sandburn, ““The Kennedy Machine Buried What Really Happened”: Revisiting Chappaquiddick, 50 Years Later,” Vanity Fair, 7/17/2019
        • Wayne King, “Wilbur Mills Offers Sober Testimony to an Alcoholic Past,” New York Times, 12/4/1978
        • Stephen Green and Margot Hornblower, “Mills Admits Being Present During Tidal Basin Scuffle,” The Washington Post, 10/11/1974
        • Julian Zelizer, “The sex scandal that reshaped Congress — and the warnings for today,” The Washington Post, 3/1/2021
        • Hugh Sidey, “In Defense of the Martini,” TIME, 10/24/1977
        • “Betty Ford Says That She Is Addicted to Alcohol,” The Washington Post, April 22nd, 1978
        • “Betty Ford on Admitting She was an Alcoholic,” ABC News, 1987
        • Elaine Sciolino, “Washington at Work; A Year After Rejection in Senate, Tower Replays Loss of Coveted Job,” New York Times, 4/5/1990
        • Jamie Dupree, “Flashbacks to John Tower as Senators review Kavanaugh FBI file,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/3/2018


          • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store
          Now & ThenBy CAFE
          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9

          4.9

          3,637 ratings

          More shows like Now & Then

          View all
          The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

          The New Yorker Radio Hour

          6,744 Listeners

          The Rachel Maddow Show by Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

          The Rachel Maddow Show

          36,988 Listeners

          Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

          Radio Atlantic

          2,315 Listeners

          Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

          Stay Tuned with Preet

          32,371 Listeners

          The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

          The Bulwark Podcast

          12,287 Listeners

          Talking Feds by Harry Litman

          Talking Feds

          4,603 Listeners

          The Al Franken Podcast by The Al Franken Podcast

          The Al Franken Podcast

          8,568 Listeners

          Doing Justice by CAFE

          Doing Justice

          858 Listeners

          #SistersInLaw by Politicon

          #SistersInLaw

          10,437 Listeners

          The Counsel by CAFE

          The Counsel

          857 Listeners

          Up Against The Mob by CAFE

          Up Against The Mob

          987 Listeners

          The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

          The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

          10,894 Listeners

          Trumpland with Alex Wagner by Alex Wagner, MSNBC

          Trumpland with Alex Wagner

          1,437 Listeners

          Main Justice by MSNBC

          Main Justice

          7,061 Listeners

          Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News by Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

          Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News

          6,289 Listeners

          Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

          Letters from an American

          5,758 Listeners

          Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams by Crooked Media

          Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

          1,727 Listeners