Before he became president, Abraham Lincoln spent just one term in Congress. So how did "the best known two-time Senate loser in the country" become one of the greatest presidents in American history? 

Bob calls up historian and author Chris DeRose (Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President) to help answer this question.  

Together, they explore how Lincoln's short stint on Capitol Hill shaped his presidency — from his early and consistent resistance to the expansion of slavery to his firsthand experience of seeing men kidnapped and sold into bondage. 

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For centuries, the story has been told the same way: Montezuma surrendered to Hernán Cortés, and a small band of Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire.

But that story has always seemed a bit ... fishy. 

To get the TRUE story, Bob calls up historian Matthew Restall to debunk one of the most enduring myths of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. As it turns out, when you dig into Indigenous sources a whole new story begins to emerge. Shocker, Montezuma did not surrender and Cortés was not viewed as a God-like figure. 

In this episode, we'll revisit the famous meeting between Montezuma and Cortés, unpack the legend that Europeans were mistaken for gods, and explore how Spanish self-promotion shaped the history books for hundreds of years. 

If you’ve ever wondered how a few hundred conquistadors were said to defeat an empire of millions — or why we’ve been telling this story the same way for 500 years — this episode offers a long-overdue reset.

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It takes decades to build a new subway line in the United States. Meanwhile, China is building entire high-speed rail networks in just a few years. So, how did America's once-great love of trains get derailed? 

We use New York City’s Second Avenue Subway as a test case to answer this bigger question: Why is building trains in America so hard compared to places like China?

Bob calls up Dan McNichol, author of Second Avenue Subway: Building the Most Famous Thing Never Built in New York City, and transportation expert Joe Stanford to break down how the U.S. went from a rail-building powerhouse to a country where major transit projects feel nearly impossible.

In this episode we bore deep into: 

America’s century-long struggle to complete the Second Avenue Subway

China’s rapid expansion of subways and high-speed rail

How politics, regulation, and Americans' LOVE for their cars shape infrastructure

Why the cost of expanding passenger rail lines is so much higher in the U.S. (like, WAY higher) than in Europe and Asia

All aboard! Next stop: a brief history of American rail. (Toot! Toot!) 🚂

 

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Could a new president ever be carved into Mount Rushmore? It depends on who you ask. We call up historian Matthew Davis (author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore) to learn about the history of the monument and what its future might hold. 

It’s a story with a lot of surprising twists and turns, from the hills of Georgia to the sacred mountains of South Dakota. How does Mount Rushmore reflect America’s battles over who and what America chooses to celebrate?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why Mount Rushmore was carved, and who originally inspired the project

The forgotten faces and ideas that never made it onto the mountain

How Indigenous history and land rights shape Rushmore’s legacy

Whether a future president could legally (or physically) be added

GUEST: Matthew Davis, author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore

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What is the greatest movie of the 21st century?

The New York Times says it’s Parasite, but not everyone agrees. We call up Rotten Tomatoes correspondent Mark Ellis to debate the NYT’s list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century and explore how cinema has changed in the past 25 years. Mark says it’s an era of “hopeless films in a time of hopelessness.” 

Grab some popcorn and silence your phone (unless you’re using it to play this podcast) and sit back as we tear this list apart. 

What do you think of NYT’s list? Share your thoughts by emailing [email protected] 

Oh, and here’s our watchlist if you’re looking for a good film: 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Predator: Badlands

Spirited Away

Weapons

Creed 

Spotlight 

Marty Supreme

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Netflix’s Death by Lightning is gripping, dramatic and TRUE. Or is it? 

We call up historian and New York Times bestselling author Alexis Coe for a lightning round fact check of Netflix’s new James A. Garfield series Death by Lightning. What does the series gets right? What does it bend for dramatic effect? And how does it rank compared to other presidential biopic(esque) series? 

We'll hit all the highlights:

• The assassination of President James A. Garfield
• The portrayal of Chester A. Arthur by Nick Offerman
• Political corruption
• 19th century medicine
• Should we have more stories about obscure presidents? 

Did you have thoughts on the series? Send your thoughts to [email protected] 

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Was Johnny Appleseed a real person or just another American tall tale? We get to the core of the issue with author William Kerrigan (Johnny Appleseed and the American Orchard: A Cultural History) to see how one man's true story inspired an enduring folk legend. 

In this episode Bob and William explore how John Chapman's religious revival led him to pioneer apple nurseries across Pennsylvania and Ohio. Just like some hybrid apples, Chapman was a mix of naturalist and capitalist. He bought vast tracts of land for apple orchards but believed in America’s lost simplicity and a connection to nature.

So, kick off your shoes and put a pot on your head as we travel around spreading seeds of knowledge. 

GUEST: William Kerrigan, author of Johnny Appleseed and the American Orchard: A Cultural History

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Many Americans have turned their backs on the vax, but early Early Americans would literally have killed for some vaccines.

In this episode, we explore the history of America's first vaccines, which can be traced to a mandate from none other than General George Washington. Dr. Kathryn Olivarius (author of Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom) explains the surprising story of how vaccines shaped American life — from smallpox inoculations during the Revolution to modern-day debates over public health and personal freedom.

We're going to poke and jab at history to see why vaccine resistance isn’t new, and how the fight between science, religion, and politics has defined 250 years of American medicine. 

GUEST: Kathryn Olivarius, author of Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom

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Was it the rise of hitchhiking? Lead in the water pipes? Or was it something a little darker in our culture? Bob rings up private investigator and host of the podcast Hell & Gone: Murder Line — Catherine Townsend — to learn why there were so many serial killers in America during the 1970s.

From Ted Bundy to the Night Stalker and John Wayne Gacy, we dive into the “golden age” of serial killers to see how difficult it was to catch predators in a world before DNA testing, cell phones, and surveillance cameras. But that also begs the question: Are there fewer serial killers today? Listen, and find out! 

GUEST: Catherine Townsend, host of Hell and Gone: Murder Line and Red Collar

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We all have that relative that tells us there was actually no green bean casserole at the first Thanksgiving. Yeah, we know, Grandma! But how much do we really know about that first feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians? 

Well, a lot. But the story most of us learned in school is completely wrong. Author David J. Silverman, (This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving) joins us to carve up the myths about Turkey Day and serve a nice helping of truth. 

In this episode, Bob and David explore the origins of Thanksgiving, from the Wampanoag people’s strategic decision to ally with the English, to Abraham Lincoln’s role in turning that footnoted feast into a national holiday. 

Tell your family to turn down the yacht rock and play this episode of American History Hotline as you avoid talking about politics and stir the gravy. 

GUEST: David J. Silverman, author of This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. He has a new book coming out in February of 2026 titled, The Chosen and the Damned: Native Americans and the Making of Race in the United States

 

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