Colleen Sheehan, Arizona State University Professor, discusses the early life and times of the Federalist's three authors. She explains how their lives challenged their writing and thinking. Plus, their lasting legacy today.

In September 1787, the newly drafted Constitution of the United States was sent to the states for ratification. Responding to initial public criticism of the document, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - under the collective pseudonym "Publius" - wrote a series of 85 essays to promote the ratification of the Constitution. The essays were first published in several New York newspapers and were later combined into a book titled The Federalist. Today, the original essays are commonly referred to as The Federalist Papers. 
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FEED DROP: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton & John Jay "The Federalist Papers"

Intriguing hour-long conversations with people who are making things happen. Hosted by Peter Slen.  New episodes every Sunday evening. From the network that brings you "Washington Today" and "Lectures in History" podcasts.

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Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family.       
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Patrick Kennedy, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage"

Half Jewish and a member of the Hitler Youth who saw Adolf Hitler in person, Jochen "Jack" Wurfl, author of "My Two Lives," talks about surviving in Nazi Germany and his later life and success in the United States. To hide their identities after the Nazis took over in 1933, Mr. Wurfl and his brother were baptized Catholic and later joined the Hitler Youth. His Catholic father, deemed a political enemy by the state, was sent to a concentration camp in Austria, while his Jewish mother was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz, where she perished. 
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Jochen "Jack" Wurfl, "My Two Lives"

Filmmakers Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen discuss their 4-part Netflix docuseries "American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders," about the events surrounding the death of freelance journalist Danny Casolaro (cas-uh-LARE-oh) in 1991. At the time of his death, officially ruled a suicide, Mr. Casolaro was working on a story about a series of crimes – including drug running, money laundering, and murder – that he argued were connected to a cabal of ex-government officials associated with the Reagan administration and the CIA. He referred to this group as "the Octopus."     
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Zachary Treitz & Christian Hansen, "American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders"

In "The Lies of the Land," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) history professor Steven Conn argues that the reality of rural America today is vastly different from the way it is often portrayed by politicians and the media. He says rural Americans have not been left behind or been overlooked and are just as connected to the forces of American modernity – militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization – as people living in the rest of the country.  
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Steven Conn, "The Lies of the Land"

The Times of London U.S. editor David Charter, author of "Royal Audience," discusses the special relationship that Queen Elizabeth II had with the United States and U.S. presidents over her 70-year reign as Britain's Head of State. Queen Elizabeth, who became queen in 1952 and passed away in 2022, had met and had varying degrees of personal relationships with 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents during her reign going back to Harry Truman.        
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FEED DROP: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton & John Jay "The Federalist Papers"

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