Two Whig presidents were elected by the American people—Zachary Taylor and William Henry Harrison. They lasted a grand total of one year and five months. The Whigs cracked up in the 1850s over intense policy divisions. Now, many historians are drawing parallels between the Whigs then and the Republicans now. Philip Wallach recently penned an essay for the Brookings Institution about what can be learned by the last major political party death in America.

Plus, a visit to Vexillology Corner with Ted Kaye, who explains why you can't cheat in your flag design by trimming the ends off. Kaye is the author of the book Good Flag, Bad Flag.

In the Spiel, the greatest presidential broken promise in history.

Today's sponsors:

Green Mountain Coffee. Green Mountain Coffee is passionate about making a smoother-tasting cup. Try it today with $4 off, when you buy two boxes of most Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup pods at keurig.comwith code TRYGMC.

Harry's. Get the close, comfortable shave you deserve. Sign up at Harrys.com/Gist, and you'll receive the company's most popular trial set for free, you just cover the shipping.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices