Founding Son: John Quincy's America

Maybe we can add another guarantee, besides "death" and "taxes" ... "trade wars." 

In the early days of America, Native Nations were fighting over trade and power. And they saw the arrival of the Europeans as a tool to defeat their rivals. It's a period that led to shifting allegiances in a fight for dominance. 

And the clearest example of this early diplomacy is The Pequot War of the 1630s.  

To learn how this war depicts Native American alliances and shifting allegiances, Bob calls up Kathleen DuVal, author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. 

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When Ian Fleming needed a name for the secret agent at the center of his new novel, he stole one from the cover of a birdwatching book. The real James Bond wasn’t a martini-drinking spy, but a shy American ornithologist who spent decades exploring the Caribbean. Then one surreal day, he finally tracked down the man who stole his identity.

Special thanks to Jim Wright and his excellent book, The Real James Bond: A True Story of Identity Theft, Avian Intrigue, and Ian Fleming (From Schiffer Publishing). 

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Chris Childs
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Got a very special question? Willing to share your favorite Very Special Episode? You can reach us at [email protected]. And go pick up Dana's new book!

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You can't spell "hero" without JFK. Ok, so you can. But that doesn't take away from the fact that a young John F. Kennedy saved a man's life in WWII — a war he wasn't even supposed to be in!

Bob calls up Alexis Coe, New York Times bestselling presidential historian and author of Young Jack: A Biography of John F. Kennedy, 1917–1957, to uncover the thrilling true story of JFK towing an injured crew mate through shark infested waters (by his teeth!) to safety. 

Alexis also helps us understand why JFK fought so hard to serve in WWII, despite serious health problems and a free pass out of the conflict. It's this bravery and selflessness that made JFK a dreamboat to the ladies and ultimately our 35th president. 

GUEST: Alexis Coe, author of Young Jack: A Biography of John F. Kennedy, 1917–1957 (to be released in 2026)

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Are our two main political parties so toxic that a third party may soon takeover American politics? Don't count on it.

We'll dive into why right now is the opportune time for a third party to rise to power ... and why that party is destined to fail. 

But who knows?! Anything is possible.  

GUEST: Michael Cullinane, professor of U.S. History and the Lowman Walton Chair of Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. He’s also author of the soon-to-be released book: Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet.

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Gene Fleming and his pet goose Andy made headlines around the world. They brought out the best in the people of Hastings, Nebraska. But amid all this attention, Andy also brought out the worst. And three decades later, Andy's legacy is still reverberating around their hometown.

Note: This episode includes the murder of a beloved goose. And don't forget to check out Dana's new book, The Arcane Arts. Out this week in bookstores everywhere!

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Very Special Thanks to Jessica Korgie for sharing her family's story with us.

Listen to Very Special Episodes wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Introducing Free Therapy.

We're Ben and Kevin. Best friends of 15 years. 

Every week, we sit down with a different expert therapist to unpack the stuff most guys struggle with but nobody says out loud. Dating. Relationships. Modern masculinity. Career and purpose. Family. Self-worth.

We're going to uncover what it looks like to be a strong, loving, successful, empathetic, and masculine man in today's world. Because the current playbook is absolute trash (cc: manosphere).

We're not experts. We're just two very curious, slightly unhinged guys who can label our feelings (most of the time).

This show is for men trying to figure out life, women trying to figure out men, and anyone who wants more of the real stuff.

The world needs free therapy <3

New episodes every week. Follow on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and on IG at @freetherapy.

And as a reminder, we are not therapists, and while this may feel like therapy, it’s not. So if you’re struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional who can help.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1978, Soviet geologists flying over Siberia spotted something impossible: a family living in total isolation, untouched for decades by the modern world. But when outsiders finally reached their remote cabin, the family’s hidden world began to change forever.

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Special thanks to Rebecca E. Marshall for letting us share clips from her documentary, The Forest in Me. We also want to shout out the film's composer, Xylouris White. You can stream The Forest in Me right now on Pijama Films.

Listen to Very Special Episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

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Good artists borrow, great artists steal. Apparently, Thomas Jefferson got the memo. It turns out some North Carolinians penned their own Declaration of Independence nearly a year before TJ scribed his. 

So, if Thomas Jefferson stole (borrowed/homaged) the language for the Declaration of Independence, why have we never talked about this? Well, there was one heck of cover up! 

To get the full story, we call up David Fleming, author of Who's Your Founding Father?: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence. 

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You may have seen it on Broadway ... or maybe your high school gym. The Tony Award-winning musical Newsies is a favorite for school productions because the story centers around newspaper-hawking kids who stand up to titan-of-industry Joseph Pulitzer. 

Of course, we've learned that we shouldn't take our history lessons from Disney. So we've called up Vincent DiGirolamo (Crying the News: A History of America's Newsboys) to give us the REAL story of the famous 1899 newsboys strike that inspired the Disney film. 

You can find DiGirolamo's newest essay in the collection Newsies, Newsies — Read All About It!: Essays on the Film and Broadway Productions. 

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Introducing Saigon from Thoroughbred Studios, Goldhawk Productions, and iHeartPodcasts. One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart… An epic saga of love, blood and revolution starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict.

Chapter 1 - The Final Set
A championship tennis match becomes a flashpoint between French colonial power and Vietnamese resistance. Newly returned American Joseph Sherman is drawn into a world of old friendships, dangerous loyalties and sudden desire — and by nightfall, one family is shattered.

Listen to Saigon on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.