BEEF with Bridget Todd

By Next Chapter Podcasts, Bridget ToddSociety & Culture Business History

BEEF with Bridget Todd episodes

December 17, 2025 Benjamin Disraeli vs. William Gladstone: England's Pettiest Prime Ministers
This week on Beef, 19nth century British Prime Ministers William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli battle over policy and progress.
Pick up a copy of Prof. Richard Toye's new book ⁠The Churchill Myths.

Hosted by ⁠Bridget Todd⁠
Written by James "Sam" Levine
Editing, Sound Design & Showrunning by Pete Musto
Created by Executive Producer Jeremiah Tittle

Find out more about all of Next Chapter Podcasts' incredible content at ⁠nextchapterpodcasts.com⁠!

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1 hr 10 min
December 10, 2025 Bonus Episode - General Pete Worden (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Adrián Duston-Muñoz chats with retired Air Force General Pete Worden about the rough road of innovation, the importance of never compromising your principles, and the search of intelligent life beyond our world.
Dr. S. “Pete” Worden, (Brig Gen, USAF, Ret, PhD) is Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Executive Director of the foundation’s ‘Breakthrough Initiatives’. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona. After several US Air Force positions and a research professorship in astronomy at the University of Arizona, Dr. Worden was Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center until retiring on March 31, 2015. From 2017 to the present, Brigadier General Worden is an Advisor to the Luxembourg Space Agency and was appointed as a Knight-Commander of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 2018 for his space services.

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36 min
December 03, 2025 Bonus Episode - Evan Lovett (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Max Wolfson interviews cultural historian Evan Lovett about the beautiful diversity of Los Angeles, the problems inherent in its growth into metropolis, and price of greatness.
Evan Lovett is a former staff writer for the LA Times and the creator of the show “LA In A Minute,” dedicated to presenting the history and culture of Los Angeles' neighborhoods, infrastructure, culture, and cuisine. He’s also the host of the podcast In A Minute with Evan Lovett.

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29 min
November 19, 2025 Bonus Episode - Dr. Dwight Duston (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Adrián Duston-Muñoz interviews his father, physicist Dr. Dwight Duston, about the internal politicals of government agencies, the future of space exploration and innovation's desperate need for rulebreakers.

Dr. Dwight Duston has pursued a diversified 35-year professional career as a research scientist, technology manager, university professor, inventor and entrepreneur. He has managerial and technical expertise in a wide range of technologies in multiple industries, including defense, aerospace, bio-medical lasers, medical imaging, displays and ophthalmics.
He started as a research scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory in the area of plasma physics, radiation, laser fusion and nuclear weapons simulation, and has more than 25 technical publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Advancing to technology management mid-career, Dr. Duston is former director of the Technology Division for the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (now, the US Missile Defense Agency), popularly known as the “Star Wars” program. At the Pentagon, he managed research and development programs in structural and electronic materials, optics, lasers, particle beams, high-speed processing, imaging sensors, power, and propulsion. His office launched over 15 space missions during his tenure, including Clementine, the first space probe to discover ice on the moon. While at SDIO, he also managed the Congressionally-mandated Free Electron Laser Medical Program, the Small Business Innovation Research program, and SDI’s Technology Transfer Office. He has served on advisory panels to several other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (digital mammography), NASA, DARPA and the Departments of Energy and Commerce.

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57 min
November 12, 2025 NASA vs. Department of Defense: The Clementine Mission
Futuristic technology and feuding federal agencies. This week on Beef, NASA and the U.S Defense Department’s Ballistic Missile Defense Organization fight over the future of space exploration.
Check out General Pete Worden's Breakthrough Initiatives

Hosted by ⁠⁠Bridget Todd⁠⁠
Written by Adrián Duston-Muñoz
Showrunning, Editing & Sound Design by Pete Musto
Produced by James "Sam" Levine
Created by Executive Producer Jeremiah Tittle

Find out more about all of Next Chapter Podcasts' incredible content at ⁠⁠nextchapterpodcasts.com⁠⁠!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 3 min
November 05, 2025 Bonus Episode - Dr. Cecilia Gaposchkin (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Dr. Richard Abels travels back the late Medieval period with European religious history scholar Dr. Cecilia Gaposchkin to discuss the structure of the Catholic Church at the time, the legitmacy of power, and egos so big they change the world.

Dr. Cecilia Gaposchkin received her Ph.D. from Berkeley in 2001. She works on late medieval cultural history, and has published on the crusades, on the Capetians (the kings of France between 987 and 1328), on kingship, and on liturgy. Her most recent book is Vexilla Regis: Liturgy and Relics at the Sainte Chapelle in the Thirteenth Century (CNRS: 2022). She is also the author of Invisible Weapons: Liturgy and the Making of Crusade Ideology (Cornell UP, 2017), The Making of Saint Louis (IX) of France: Kingship, Sanctity and Crusade in the Later Middle Ages (Cornell UP, 2008), Blessed Louis, The Most Glorious of Kings: Texts relating to the Cult of Saint Louis of France (Notre Dame: 2012; translations done with Phyllis Katz), and, with Sean Field and Larry Field, The Sanctity of Louis IX: Early Lives of Saint Louis by Geoffrey of Beaulieu and William of Chartres (Cornell UP: 2014), and The Deeds of Philip Augustus : An English Translation of Rigord's "Gesta Phillipi Augusti" (Cornell UP: 2022). She is now working on a study of liturgy and ceremony in thirteenth-century Paris, and another on the long history of the Cross Invincible.

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58 min
October 29, 2025 Bonus Episode - Dr. Brent Haddad (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Max Wolfson dives in the deep end with water expert Dr. Brent Haddad to explore the exploitation of our natural resources, Southern California's shifting relationship to its drinking water, and the possible innovations in resource management that the future may hold.
Dr. Brent Haddad has over 20 years of experience in the field of water and wastewater. In addition to leading the Center, he is Associate Dean of Engineering for Technology Management and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, teaching courses on environmental policy and economics and fresh water policy. Professor Haddad holds an M.B.A. in Business & Public Policy and a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources. Professor Haddad’s research focuses on fresh water policy and management, including urban water management strategies, utility-stakeholder communications, and long-range planning.

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37 min
October 22, 2025 Bonus Episode - Len Elmore (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Max Wolfson talks with former professional basketball player turned color commentator Len Elmore about the history of the sport, the changes to it over time, and the what it takes to have an impact long after your career has come to an end.
Len Elmore was a center and power forward in the NBA and ABA from 1974 to 1984, playing for such teams as the Indiana Pacers, Kansas City Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks. In 2002, he was honored as one of the 50 greatest players in ACC history. And since retiring from the league, he's provided color commentary for CBS, Fox Sports and ESPN. He also is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, and teaches at Columbia University's Master of Science Program in Sports Management.

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36 min
October 15, 2025 Bonus Episode - Prof. Richard Wiseman (Full Interview)
In our latest piece of bonus content, showrunner Pete Musto chats with psychology professor Richard Wiseman about the nature of belief, the mechanics of deception, and the staying power of alternative religious views.
Richard Wiseman is a professor of psychology with a PhD from the University of Edinburgh who has written numerous books on the subject. As a young man he performed as street magician for several years, and has written several books on that subject, including Magic Your Mind Happy, Hocus Pocus: Science, Magic & Mystery, and David Copperfield’s History of Magic, which he co-authored. Professor Wiseman also has a particular interest in debunking paranormal phenomena, as he is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the author of Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There.

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46 min
October 08, 2025 Introducing...In a Minute with Evan Lovett
From the creator of social media mainstay L.A. In a Minute, Evan Lovett invites you along for a personal and intimate ride as he shares interesting facts about all sorts of things you didn’t know you needed to know. Be entertained and informed as Evan brings you into his mind to see the world through his lens. There is history everywhere, as long as you know where to look. Let's get into it!
In this episode, Fred Armisen of Portlandia and Saturday Night Live shares his journey of falling in love with Los Angeles, despite not being 'a sun person'. Did you know Armisen is of Korean, Venezuelan, and German descent? Let’s get into it!
Listen to In a Minute with Evan Lovett
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-a-minute-with-evan-lovett/id1672118172
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gh6mFi3ohKvFt0o5EWgbl
Follow L.A. in a Minute IG: https://www.instagram.com/lainaminute
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@evanlovett

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1 hr 24 min