Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Blake Scott Ball of Huntingdon College to discuss his new book, Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts. They discuss how Schulz’s upbringing, his time in the U.S, Army in World War II, his religious views, and the Cold War shaped the comic strip. They also discuss Schulz’s political leanings and how he dealt with integrating the strip in the late 1960’s.  

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/charlie-browns-america-9780190090463?cc=us&lang=en&#

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Robert Armstrong – “Charlie Brown’s America: how a nation went nuts for a comic strip”

https://www.ft.com/content/d3f469ab-d215-48e8-b83c-ea0537d08174

The New Republic: Scott Bradfield – “Charlie Brown Tried to Stay Out of Politics”

https://newrepublic.com/article/162580/charlie-brown-america-peanuts-snoopy-politics-book-review

The Wall Street Journal: Michael Taube – “‘Charlie Brown’s America’ Review: ‘Peanuts’ and Politics”

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Joel Selvin, long-time rock critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, to discuss his new book, Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise. They discuss the interconnections between a bunch of L.A. kids in the early 1960’s and how they invented a new brand of pop music that came to define, to the world at large, the California dream.

Get the book here: https://houseofanansi.com/products/hollywood-eden

Show Notes:

Book Soup: Joel Selvin: Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUUsfmCfMqI

New York Times: James Gavin – “From Brian Wilson to Nancy Sinatra: The L.A. Music Scene in the ’60s”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/books/review/hollywood-eden-joel-selvin.html

San Francisco Chronicle: Matt Jaffe – “Review: Ex-Chronicle music critic Joel Selvin delves into the early years of Hollywood pop”

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/review-ex-chronicle-music-critic-joel-selvin-delves-into-the-early-years-of-hollywood-pop

SF Weekly: Bill Kopp – “‘Hollywood Eden’ Visits Pop’s Terrestrial Paradise”

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Ronald J. Pestritto, Graduate Dean and Professor of Politics at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, America Transformed: The Rise and Legacy of American Progressivism. They discuss the birth of the Progressive movement, the political philosophies of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and the administrative state. They also chat about progressivism and the law, and progressivism in state and local government.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/america-transformed/

Show Notes:

The Heritage Foundation: Ronald J. Pestritto – “The Birth of the Administrative State: Where It Came From and What It Means for Limited Government”

https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/the-birth-the-administrative-state-where-it-came-and-what-it-means-limited

The Heritage Foundation: Ronald J. Pestritto & Taylor Kempema – “The Birth of Direct Democracy: What Progressivism Did to the States”

https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/the-birth-direct-democracy-what-progressivism-did-the-states

The Heritage Foundation: Ronald J. Pestritto – “Woodrow Wilson: Godfather of Liberalism”

https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/woodrow-wilson-godfather-liberalism

Power Line: How Progressives Transformed America, with R.J. Pestritto

https://ricochet.com/podcast/powerline/how-progressives-transformed-america-with-r-j-pestritto/

RealClearPublicAffairs: Ronald J. Pestritto – “Why the Early Progressives Rejected American Founding Principles”

https://www.realclearpublicaffairs.com/articles/2021/06/08/why_the_early_progressives_rejected_american_founding_principles_779946.html

Dr. Pestritto’s archive at the Claremont Review of Books

https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/author/ronald-j-pestritto/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Charles Murray, Hayek Emeritus Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute to discuss his new book, Facing Reality: Two Truths about Race in America. They discuss the American creed and how the rise of identity politics and the belief in systemic racism is a threat to it. They also discuss racial differences in violent crime rates and distributions of cognitive ability and how systemic racism is not the cause of these differences.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/facing-reality/

Show Notes:

Resources and Data Related to the Book: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/facing-reality/

The Glenn Show: Facing Reality | Glenn Loury & Charles Murray | The Glenn Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqgUclg7-Lk

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg: Episode 170: Gender and race and class, oh my!

https://www.aei.org/multimedia/episode-170-gender-and-race-and-class-oh-my/

Ricochet Podcast: Facing Reality with Charles Murray

https://ricochet.com/podcast/ricochet-podcast/facing-reality-with-charles-murray/

Washington Examiner: Michael Barone – “Charles Murray's two uncomfortable truths and his not-bad advice”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/charles-murrays-two-uncomfortable-truths-and-his-not-bad-advice

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by New York Times bestselling author Ronald C. White to discuss his new book, Lincoln in Private: What His Most Personal Reflections Tell Us About Our Greatest President. They discuss eleven of the most significant of the 111 writing scraps Lincoln left behind, why these scraps are important, and how they help broaden our understanding of Honest Abe.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606646/lincoln-in-private-by-ronald-c-white/

Show Notes:

Hauenstein Center: Ronald C. White: Lincoln in Private (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgz1f692GeI

The Lincoln Forum: Lincoln Forum Zoom event with Ronald C. White on "Lincoln in Private" (May 15, 2021) (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslP2lsthMo

The Trinity Forum: Online Conversation | Lincoln in Private: Leadership Behind Closed Doors, with Ron White (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpbW9-YPpf8

Wall Street Journal: Andrew F. Lang  – “‘Lincoln in Private’ Review: Confidential Ruminations”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lincoln-in-private-review-condential-ruminations-11620166951

White House Historical Association: Ronald White on History Happy Hour with the White House Historical Association - Lincoln in Private (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24JRWNyvTXI

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Serhii Plokhy, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs’kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, to discuss his new book, Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They discuss how the crisis came about, how it played out, and the motivations of Khrushchev, Kennedy, and Castro. They also talk about what we have learned about the episode from newly-accessed KGB archives and the perils of a new arms race.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393540819

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Victor Sebestyen – “Nuclear Folly by Serhii Plokhy — terrifying truth of Cuban missile crisis”

The New Republic: Andre Pagliarini – “The Book That Stopped an Outbreak of Nuclear War”

https://newrepublic.com/article/162058/book-stopped-outbreak-nuclear-war

The Sunday Times: Max Hastings – “Nuclear Folly by Serhii Plokhy review — we were lucky to survive the Cuban missile crisis”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nuclear-folly-by-serhii-plokhy-review-wnr9v8g7k

Wall Street Journal: James Rosen – “‘Nuclear Folly’ Review: The Big Red Gamble”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-folly-review-the-big-red-gamble-11618871259

Washington Post: Max Boot – “From former Soviet archives, chilling new details of the Cuban missile crisis”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/from-former-soviet-archives-chilling-new-details-of-the-cuban-missile-crisis/2021/04/29/a6ce620e-8589-11eb-bfdf-4d36dab83a6d_story.html

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: Book Talk: Nuclear Folly (VIDEO)

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/book-talk-nuclear-folly

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sean McMeekin, professor of history at Bard College, to discuss his new book, Stalin's War: A New History of World War II. They discuss Soviet foreign policy in the 1930’s, how the USSR advanced the war making capabilities of Nazi Germany prior to Operation Barbarossa, and how Stalin got away with invading and occupying seven different countries in the shadow of Hitler’s stunning military triumphs in 1939 and 1940. They also chat about Stalin’s role in influencing the course of events in Asia during the war as well.

Get the book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/sean-mcmeekin/stalins-war/9781541672796/

Show Notes:

The Critic: Jeremy Black – “The wrong war?”

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/april-2021/the-wrong-war/

Financial Times: Margaret Macmillan – “Stalin’s War by Sean McMeekin — alternative perspectives”

https://www.ft.com/content/e42fdee5-afa9-4c9f-a2fb-c808a4b6a354

The Guardian: Serhii Plokhy – “Stalin's War by Sean McMeekin review – a revisionist take on the second world war”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/06/stalins-war-by-sean-mcmeekin-review-a-revisionist-take-on-the-second-world-war

Literary Review: Richard Overy – “Wicked Uncle Joe”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/wicked-uncle-joe

The Spectator: Nigel Jones – “Stalin as puppet master: how Uncle Joe manipulated the West”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/stalin-as-puppet-master-how-uncle-joe-manipulated-the-west

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Nick Lloyd, reader in Military & Imperial History at King’s College London to discuss his new book, The Western Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918. They discuss all the big engagements and the major commanders, and how, while many think of this theater of war as a static ongoing battle of attrition, it was actually much more complex, full of scientific and tactical innovations. They also chat about why paying attention to this conflict is so important, and why more Americans should do so.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631497940

Show Notes:

The Spectator: Jonathan Boff – “The carnage of the Western Front was over surprisingly quickly”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-carnage-of-the-western-front-was-over-surprisingly-quickly

The Sunday Times: Max Hastings – “The Western Front: A History of the First World War by Nick Lloyd, review”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-western-front-a-history-of-the-first-world-war-by-nick-lloyd-review-xk77xcbxq

The Telegraph: Simon Heffer – “Nick Lloyd’s The Western Front is a magnificent start to a must-read historical trilogy”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/nick-lloyds-western-front-magnificent-start-must-read-historical/

The Times: Lawrence James – “The  Western Front by Nick Lloyd review — the Great War generals were not donkeys”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-western-front-a-history-of-the-first-world-war-by-nick-lloyd-review-the-great-war-generals-were-not-donkeys-v890h0mm0

Times Literary Supplement: Gary Sheffield – “Battle lines drawn”

 https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-western-front-nick-lloyd-review-gary-sheffield/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Linda Colley, Shelby M.C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University, to discuss her new book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World. They discuss the connections between the making of war and the making of constitutions, how innovations in print and transportation technology enabled the spread of constitutions across the globe, and how non-Western states and cultures adapted Western constitutions to suit the needs of their polities and cultures.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780871403162

Show Notes:

C-SPAN: “The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen” (VIDEO)

https://www.c-span.org/video/?510385-1/the-gun-ship-pen

Financial Times: John Lloyd – “The Gun, the Ship and the Pen, by Linda Colley — strong constitutions”

https://www.ft.com/content/fd10b02b-0857-44eb-9d1f-5a029d4ed5e1

The Guardian: Miles Taylor – “The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen by Linda Colley review – how the modern world was made”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/24/the-gun-the-ship-and-the-pen-by-linda-colley-review-how-the-modern-world-was-made

The Irish Times: Brendan O’Leary – “The Gun, the Ship and the Pen: Well-written contribution to global history”

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-gun-the-ship-and-the-pen-well-written-contribution-to-global-history-1.4505581?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Fthe-gun-the-ship-and-the-pen-well-written-contribution-to-global-history-1.4505581

Literary Review: H. Kumarasingham – “Power to the Printers”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/power-to-the-printers

London Review of Books: Neal Ascherson – “Scribbles in a Storm”

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n07/neal-ascherson/scribbles-in-a-storm

The New York Times: Sheri Berman – “Why Constitutions Are the Safeguards of Freedom”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/books/review/linda-colley-the-gun-the-ship-and-the-pen.html

The Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “The Gun, the Ship & the Pen by Linda Colley, review — a fascinating, global study of constitutions”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-gun-the-ship-the-pen-by-linda-colley-review-rrzd2tlkb

Times Literary Supplement: Richard Drayton – “Claims of right”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-gun-the-ship-the-pen-linda-colley-review-richard-drayton/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jon Grinspan, curator of political history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to discuss his new book, The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915. They discuss what presidential elections looked like in the mid-19th Century, why turnout was so high in those elections, and why they were much more raucous and violent than elections today. They also discuss how reformers went about changing election practices, what their motivations were, and the consequences of those changes, both good and ill.

Get the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-age-of-acrimony-9781635574623/

Show Notes:

Politico Magazine: Jon Grinspan – “The Forgotten Precedent for Our ‘Unprecedented’ Political Insanity”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/24/forgotten-precedent-unprecedented-politics-age-of-acrimony-484072

Star Tribune: Kevin Canfield – “Review: 'The Age of Acrimony,' by Jon Grinspan”

https://www.startribune.com/review-the-age-of-acrimony-by-jon-grinspan/600049330/

U.S. National Archives: The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix their Democracy, 1865–1915 (VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0asEaTrg_cY

Wall Street Journal: Michael Barone – “‘The Age of Acrimony’ Review: A Raucous Republic”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-age-of-acrimony-review-a-raucous-republic-11618581947

Washington Independent Review of Books: Kitty Kelley – "The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915”

http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/the-age-of-acrimony-how-americans-fought-to-fix-their-democracy-1865-1915

The Washington Post: Jon Grinspan –“Voter turnout is low on purpose — and it has been for more than a century”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/29/voter-turnout-is-low-purpose-it-has-been-more-than-century/