From the publisher:

"Esteemed presidential historian Stephen F. Knott takes readers on a sobering tour of the lowlights in the American presidency, showing how presidents from Thomas Jefferson to Donald Trump have engaged in reckless conspiracy-mongering about their political opponents in an effort to increase their power and privilege.

Today we are inundated with conspiracy theories—QAnon, the “Big Lie,” Pizzagate, the Epstein Files, and innumerable false claims about vaccines and other medicines. But the widespread proliferation of lies and misinformation can make it easy to forget that conspiracy theories have been part of American life from the beginning. The land of the free and the home of the brave has also been the den of false rumors and conspiratorial claims about one’s political enemies—not merely by rank-and-file Americans but also by our most powerful and consequential elected leaders. As political historian Stephen F. Knott recounts in painful detail, the Commander in Chief of the United States has often acted as Conspirator in Chief.

Part presidential history and part descent into a political Dante’s Inferno, Conspirator in Chief is a tour through the Hall of Shame in American politics. Thomas Jefferson used surrogates to spread false claims about Alexander Hamilton in order to destroy his political influence, attacked newspaper editors who were critical of his party and policies, and used conspiracy theories about the Federalists to tarnish them in the eyes of the American people. This brand of demagoguery reached an apex in the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who publicly defamed abolitionists, manipulated newspapers to publish his conspiracies, and spread his own “Big Lie” about the 1824 election being stolen from him in a “corrupt bargain.” Andrew Johnson spread false accusations about the Radical Republicans, declared the need for “white emancipation,” and made spurious claims about the dangers of a coming Black supremacy as a result of Reconstruction. Woodrow Wilson, according to Knott, continued Johnson’s racist and conspiratorial interpretation of American history.

In addition to our most infamous presidents, Knott uncovers the surprising conspiratorial inclinations of our more esteemed leaders, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S Truman. Knott shows how both presidents painted their opponents in an extreme light, casting aspersions on political rivals by calling them “betrayers of America,” “spies, saboteurs, and traitors,” and comparing them to Nazis, fascists, and communists. Less surprising are the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Donald J. Trump, both known for their propagation of racist and paranoid beliefs and their denigration of political opponents. As Knott demonstrates in excruciating detail, Trump epitomizes the worst of this long American tradition. While Trump is in a league of his own regarding the sheer output and outlandishness of his conspiracy-mongering, he did not begin this odious practice."

Information on Dr. Knott's book can be found at https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700641284/

His website can be found at https://www.stephenfknott.com/

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From the publisher: "They are going to kill people, investigative reporter for The Nation Amy Littlefield knew, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. After a decade covering abortion, she wanted to more deeply understand the motives, means, and opportunities behind the antiabortion movement's victory. So she set out to investigate the murderers of Roe.

Killers of Roe chronicles Littlefield's journey into the unexplored corners of the most successful social movement of our time. As in every good murder mystery, the killers turn out to be the people you least suspect. Plot twists lurk around every corner as Littlefield meets believers, opportunists, and complicated heroes. Along the way, she encounters surprising characters who shed light on how we got to this moment of authoritarian rule: from the former fetus keeper standing trial in Michigan to the antiabortion militant turned long shot presidential candidate to the pro-choice superfans at the Reagan Library. Throughout the book, Littlefield draws upon women's stories and her own experience as a mother to reveal the life-and-death stakes of America's abortion wars.

At once clever and poignant reportage, this abortion whodunit uncovers the deeper story of how we lost Roe--and how we will win back so much more."

Amy Littlefield's website can be found at https://www.amylittlefield.com/

Information on her book from Hachette Book Group can be found at https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amy-littlefield/killers-of-roe/9781538769041/

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We are celebrating our 200th episode with Kate Carpenter, the host of the podcast, "Drafting the Past," which focuses on the art of writing history. Make sure you check out her show!

On this celebration episode, we chat about how our podcasts got started, what we have learned about writing and reading great history, and what successes and challenges we have each faced in building our bases of listeners.

And certainly, I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of listeners who have downloaded this show over the last 5+ years. Here's to the next 200 episodes!

Kate Carpenter's website can be found at https://draftingthepast.com/

Her show can be found at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drafting-the-past/id1606008941

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From the publisher: "From award-winning historian Megan Kate Nelson, an epic account of the creation of the American West in the 19th century, shattering the traditional frontier myth that has dominated popular American culture.

The Westerners tells two richly detailed and interwoven stories. The first reveals the captivating lives of women and men moving through the American West—Indigenous peoples, Black Americans, Mexican Americans, and Canadian and Asian immigrants—in the 19th century. The second tracks the attempts of many Americans to erase these westerners from history, through a frontier myth that lionized individualism and conquest and celebrated white settlers traveling west in search of prosperity.

Nelson’s vivid, eye-opening account centers on seven extraordinary individuals whose lives capture the true history of the frontier: Sacajawea, not just Lewis and Clark’s guide but an explorer who forged her own path; Jim Beckwourth, a biracial fur trader whose sharp cultural insight made him indispensable; María Gertrudis Barceló, a Hispana gambling saloon owner who broke every stereotype to become the wealthiest woman in Santa Fe; Ovando Hollister, a gold miner, soldier, and newspaper man who championed Western expansion; Little Wolf, a Northern Cheyenne chief whose courageous leadership secured his people’s future; Canadian immigrant Ella Watson, who strove to become a ranch woman in a male-dominated world; and the defiant Polly Bemis, a Chinese immigrant who carved out a life in Idaho despite federal expulsion efforts."

Megan Kate Nelson's website can be found at https://megankatenelson.com/

Information on her book from Simon & Schuster can be found at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Westerners/Megan-Kate-Nelson/9781668004340

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From the publisher: "A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt’s deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.

As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.

Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith."

Andrew Porwancher's website can be found at https://www.andrewporwancher.com/

Information on his book can be found at https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691203669/american-maccabee

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From the publisher: "Exploring 500 years of protest and resistance in US history—and what the unsung heroes of social movements past can teach us about navigating our chaotic world

In this timely new book in Beacon’s successful ReVisioning History series, professor Gloria Browne-Marshall delves into the history of protest movements and rebellion in the United States. Beginning with Indigenous peoples’ resistance to European colonization and continuing through to today’s climate change demonstrations, Browne-Marshall expands how to think about protest through sharing select historical moments and revealing the role of key players involved in those efforts.

Drawing upon legal documents, archival material, government documents and secondary sources, A Protest History of the United States gives voice to those who pushed back against the mistreatment of others, themselves, and in some instances planet Earth. Browne-Marshall highlights stories of individuals from all walks of life, backgrounds, and time periods who helped bring strong attention to their causes. Those examples of protest include those of Wahunsenacock, more commonly known to history as Chief Powhatan, who took on English invaders in pre-colonial America in 1607; legendary boxer Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in Vietnam and appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court; and David Buckel, LGBTQ+ rights lawyer and environmental activist who protested against fossil fuels by committing self-immolation in 2018.

Regardless of whether these protests accomplished their end goals, Browne-Marshall reminds us that not only is dissent meaningful and impactful but is an essential tool for eliciting long lasting change."

Gloria Browne-Marshall's website can be found here: https://www.browne-marshall23.com/

Information on Gloria Browne-Marshall's book can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/770181/a-protest-history-of-the-united-states-by-gloria-j-browne-marshall/

Gloria Browne-Marshall is on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/gbrownemarshall/?hl=en

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From the publisher: 

"In this masterful, groundbreaking work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence.

On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens,  Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz’s young victims would become villains."

Dr. Heather Ann Thompson's website can be found at https://www.heatherannthompson.com/

Information on her book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771433/fear-and-fury-by-heather-ann-thompson/

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From the publisher: 

"The deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon.

Perhaps no founding father is as mysterious as Thomas Jefferson. The author of the Declaration of Independence was both a gifted wordsmith and a bundle of nerves. His superior knowledge of the human heart is captured in the impassioned appeal he brought to the Declaration. But as a champion of the common man who lived a life of privilege on a mountaintop plantation of his own design, he has eluded biographers who have sought to make sense of his inner life. In Being Thomas Jefferson, acclaimed Jefferson scholar Andrew Burstein peels away layers of obfuscation, taking us past the veneer of the animated letter-writer to describe a confused lover and a misguided humanist, too timid to embrace antislavery.

Jefferson was a soft-spoken man who recoiled from direct conflict, yet a master puppeteer in politics. Whenever he left Monticello, where he could control his environment, he suffered debilitating headaches that plagued him for decades, until he finally retired from public life. So, what did it feel like to be Thomas Jefferson? Burstein explains the decision to take as his mistress Sally Hemings, the enslaved half-sister of his late wife, who bore him six children, none of whom he acknowledged. Presenting a society that encouraged separation between public and private, appearance and essence, Burstein paints a dramatic picture of early American culture and brings us closer to Jefferson's life and thought than ever before."

Information on Andrew Burstein's book can be found at https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/being-thomas-jefferson-9781639737680/

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It's almost the 250th anniversary of America's founding. Not only did the Revolution define the fate of the continent, Dr. Richard Bell argues it was a harbinger for the rest of the world. On this episode, we explore how he discovered that, and how that argument can shape our understanding of world events.

From the publisher: In this revelatory and enthralling book, award-winning historian Richard Bell reveals the full breadth and depth of America’s founding event. The American Revolution was not only the colonies’ triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England; it was also a cataclysm that pulled in participants from around the globe and threw the entire world order into chaos. Repositioning the Revolution at the center of an international web, Bell’s narrative ranges as far afield as India, Africa, Central America, and Australia. As his lens widens, the “War of Independence” manifests itself as a sprawling struggle that upended the lives of millions of people on every continent and fundamentally transformed the way the world works, disrupting trade, restructuring penal systems, stirring famine, and creating the first global refugee crisis. Bell conveys the impact of these developments at home and abroad by grounding the narrative in the gripping stories of individuals—including women, minorities, and other disenfranchised people. The result is an unforgettable and unexpected work of American history that shifts everything we thought we knew about our creation story.

Our other episode with Richard Bell, where we focused on his book, "Stolen," can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axelbank-reports-history-and-today/id1521053272?i=1000506680498

Richard Bell's website can be found at https://www.richard-bell.com/

Information on his book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752265/the-american-revolution-and-the-fate-of-the-world-by-richard-bell/

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From the publisher: Christmas is not just a day or a frame of mind as Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) imparts in Miracle on 34th Street (1947); Christmas is also a vehicle for national mythmaking as an idealising mirror for American cultural and political attitudes of a given moment. Via a case study on Hollywood Christmas films released between 1946 and 1961, Selling Out Santa offers an examination of political pressures on Hollywood in the post-war period and the cultural ramifications of federal involvement in the motion picture industry. As the House Committee on Un-American Activities opened hearings in 1947 and the FBI gathered reports on potential communist subversion in Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Hollywood executives began to bend to the socially conservative pressures of this post-war moment. Using Christmas films as the core of this investigation to identify and analyse changes within the genre as they relate to and reflect changes in the wider cultural and political moment exposes for film scholars, students, and non-specialists how these federal and external pressures on Hollywood moulded these holiday favourites throughout the 1950s and set the social standard for decades of Christmas releases.

Vaughn Joy is on social media at https://bsky.app/profile/gvaughnjoy.bsky.social

Information on her book can be found at https://indiepubs.com/products/selling-out-santa?srsltid=AfmBOopjXbRVgGjiwj4_WnZgoxzgP_DnDpf-4pdhv3STCYk0t-pSrcZq

She is on Substack at https://substack.com/@gvaughnjoy

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