Now & Then

By Cafe

Society & Culture History

What's Now & Then about?

How can the past help inform today’s most pressing challenges? Every Wednesday, award-winning historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman use their encyclopedic knowledge of US history to bring the past to life. Together, they make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, ideas, and events that got us here today. Now and Then is produced by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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LAST EPISODE

Heather Cox Richardson on S...

09.28.2023

Heather Cox Richardson, host of Now & Then, joins Stay Tuned with Preet to discuss her new book, “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.” They talk about the origins of the terms “liberal” and “conservative,” a 1937 anti-FDR ...

Now & Then episodes:

09.28.2023 Heather Cox Richardson on Stay Tuned with Preet Heather Cox Richardson, host of Now & Then, joins Stay Tuned with Preet to discuss her new book, “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.” They talk about the origins of the terms “liberal” and “conservative,” a 1937 anti-FDR ...
09.13.2023 Then...and Now On this finale episode of Now & Then, Heather and Joanne are joined by the show’s production team to discuss behind-the-scenes reflections and favorite memories from the series. Editorial Producers David Kurlander and Sam Ozer-Staton, Executive Producer Tamara Sepper, and ...
09.06.2023 Looking Ahead: A Viewers’ Guide to Presidential Debates How do political debates help and hurt American democracy? Heather and Joanne reflect on the recent Republican primary debate and discuss the long legacy of the institution, from Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr’s proto-debates with voters during the contentious 1800 ...
08.30.2023 Looking Ahead to 2024: Conventions, Caucuses, and the Balance of Democracy What can we expect from the 2024 Conventions? Heather and Joanne look at the role of political conventions in American life, from the “King Caucus” era of the early 1800s, to President Lincoln’s ascendance at the 1860 RNC, to the ...
08.23.2023 Pardons: Politics & Power Can former President Trump pardon himself? Heather and Joanne explore the history of the pardon power, from constitutional debates, to President Andrew Johnson’s controversial Confederate pardons, to the corrupt Georgia pardon practices that precipitated the very relevant Georgia State Board ...
08.16.2023 The Women’s World Cup, Title IX, and Power The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team recently faced significant backlash after its World Cup defeat. Heather and Joanne explore how the team’s triumphs and losses fit into the history of women’s team sports, from the emergence of women’s basketball at ...
08.09.2023 Telling Tales of History: The Florida Problem What can the controversy over Florida’s new Black history standards tell us about the politics of distorting the past? Heather and Joanne analyze the claims and framing of the standards and connect the curricular mandates to a century-old effort by ...
08.02.2023 Unions, Strikes, and the Public: What Matters? How should we make sense of the current labor activism in transportation and entertainment? Heather and Joanne explain how the fault lines in the UPS contract negotiation can be seen in the 1894 Pullman Strike. And they compare the WGA ...
07.26.2023 Barbie, G.I. Joe, and the Gang: Dolls Are Us What can the success of Barbie tell us about America? Heather and Joanne put the blockbuster film into context with other impactful dolls, from Raggedy Ann to G.I. Joe., exploring what these iconic playthings can show about U.S. debates over ...
07.19.2023 The Third Party Problem Heather and Joanne respond to the presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy and the hype surrounding the No Labels political organization by looking at two past third-party bids that changed the nation: the 1844 presidential candidacy of James G. Birney’s ...
07.12.2023 The Titan, the Sea, and What We See Heather and Joanne compare the national response to the implosion of the Titan submersible to two high-profile historical sea calamities: the 1813 ocean vanishing of Theodosia Burr and the 1872 Mary Celeste “ghost ship” drama. How do Americans react to ...
06.28.2023 The American Nation and Indigenous Nations: Sovereignty & Struggle Heather and Joanne reflect on the recent Haaland v. Brackeen Supreme Court decision, which upholds the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. They put the case into context with past struggles by indigenous communities to define their place in the American ...
06.21.2023 Presidential Lawyer Problems How can personal lawyers help and hurt embattled presidents? Heather and Joanne use the current chaos engulfing former President Trump’s legal team to explore the blurry roles of private presidential attorneys in American history. They explore conservative Unionist lawyer Reverdy ...
06.14.2023 There's Something in the Water What can past struggles over American water access tell us about national power and politics? Heather and Joanne place state and federal government responses to the Southwest’s current megadrought in the tangled history of water management, from Aaron Burr’s duplicitous ...
06.07.2023 Texas Tall-Tales, Ken Paxton…and Us What can the contested and often-mythological history of Texas show us about America today? Heather and Joanne use the current impeachment drama surrounding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a window into the dramatic and ever-shifting legacies of the Alamo ...
05.31.2023 Encore: Women Warriors: Ukraine & Beyond Stories of remarkable heroism by women in Ukraine have captured the imagination of the world over the past 15 months. How have women warriors shaped conversations over gender, violence, and heroism over the course of United States history? In this ...
05.24.2023 The American Wellness Continuum: Alternative Medicine In the concluding episode of a two-part series, Heather and Joanne discuss alternative approaches to medicine throughout American history, and place them in the context of today’s non-traditional remedies, like psychedelic therapy and wellness brands. They talk through the 19th ...
05.17.2023 The American Wellness Continuum: Traditional Medicine In the first episode of a two-part series, Heather and Joanne look at how the traditional American medical establishment has conceived of mental health over our national history. What can these designations say about the pandemic-associated mental health crises we ...
05.10.2023 Veep: The Real Story What is the role of the Vice President in American political history? What is the road ahead for VP Kamala Harris? Heather and Joanne break down the evolving role of the VP, from John Adams’s frustrated tenure, to Chester A. ...
05.03.2023 Not a Joke: Humor as Politics How can humor be used as a political weapon? Heather and Joanne discuss the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the power of American comedy. They explore Seba Smith and his iconic Jack Downing character, Alice Duer Miller’s poetic suffragist ...
04.26.2023 Supreme Court Scandals: A Story of Justice Heather and Joanne discuss the contentious issue of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s financial ties to billionaire and conservative activist Harlan Crow. They also look at three earlier conflict-of-interest controversies involving Supreme Court justices: Samuel Chase’s 1804 impeachment over his ...
04.19.2023 Expulsions and Ousters: The Threat in Tennessee Heather and Joanne discuss the political climate surrounding the dramatic expulsion and reinstatement of Tennessee legislators Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. They also place the controversy within the history of state legislative expulsions, from the White Supremacist 1875 Mississippi Plan, ...
04.12.2023 Hostages as Messages President Biden has formally declared that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia. Heather and Joanne reflect on Gershkovich’s plight and look at three other political detainments in American history: the 1776 arrest by the ...
04.05.2023 Canada and the One-Way Mirror President Biden recently met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reaffirming the U.S.-Canada relationship and announcing the countries’ joint efforts at tackling a range of issues, from immigration to climate change. Heather and Joanne use the meeting as a springboard to ...
03.29.2023 District Attorneys: Where the Rubber Meets the Road New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg remains in the spotlight amid a widely expected indictment by his office of former President Donald Trump. Heather and Joanne place DA Bragg’s unprecedented position in the history of New York County District ...
03.22.2023 Why Americans Hate (and Love) Banks The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sparked a larger conversation about the role of financial institutions in American life. Heather and Joanne reflect on the cultural and aesthetic history of banks, from the Greek Revival-influenced Second Bank of the ...
03.17.2023 Now & Then Backstage 3/15: Women Journalists and Their Fight to Be Heard This week, we are making Backstage, usually only available to members of CAFE Insider, available for all Now & Then listeners. Backstage is where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the ideas that formed the episode. During the main ...
03.15.2023 Women Journalists and Their Fight to Be Heard Heather and Joanne discuss the increased visibility–and resultant online abuse–of women journalists in 2023, and reflect on four pioneering voices: Anne Royall, Martha Gellhorn, Ethel Payne, and Lisa Olson. What barriers have American women climbed over to have a voice ...
03.08.2023 Trash and Pollution: Who Pays? Heather and Joanne discuss how the aftermath of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio resembles past American debates over the handling of waste. They talk about New York City’s 19th century sanitation pigs, the rise of the “Garbage ...
03.01.2023 Women Change Makers: Three Legal Battles To honor the beginning of Women’s History Month, Heather and Joanne tell the stories of three women who changed the American legal tapestry: Martha Bradstreet and her fight against coverture, Josephine Goldmark and her quest for labor justice, and Rosa ...
02.22.2023 What UFOs Say About Us With the recent spate of UFO shootdowns by the U.S. Air Force, Heather and Joanne discuss America’s historical fascination with aerial mysteries, from John Winthrop and Increase Mather’s colonial reports of sightings, to the 1890s “Mystery Airship” craze, to the ...
02.15.2023 Congressional Committees…and Power In light of the new Republican House majority’s denial of committee seats to Representatives Ilhan Omar, Eric Swalwell, and Adam Schiff, Heather and Joanne discuss the history and functioning of committees, from early debates over committee secrecy, to the role ...
02.08.2023 Asian American Identities: A National Story (with Mary Lui) In the aftermath of two mass shootings involving AAPI populations, Mary Lui, a professor of History and American Studies at Yale, joins Heather and Joanne to discuss the influence of Asian Americans on the nation’s trajectory, from the origins of ...
02.01.2023 Advisors and Chiefs of Staff: The Powers of the President’s People Following the announcement that Chief of Staff Ron Klain is leaving his position and Jeff Zients is taking over, Heather and Joanne look back at the history of unelected and unconfirmed presidential advisors, from Andrew Jackson’s Kitchen Cabinet, to the ...
01.25.2023 The 'Constitutional Sheriff' Myth Why are some American sheriffs resisting government policies, including gun safety laws and even the peaceful transition of presidential power, while claiming constitutional authority? And how has the role of the sheriff impacted our national life? Heather and Joanne discuss ...
01.18.2023 Horses, Cats, and Chickens: Animal Power and Us How have animals influenced the American economy over the course of the nation’s history? And why have we seen such a sizable pandemic pet boom? Heather and Joanne discuss three moments where animals shaped national culture and financial health: the ...
01.11.2023 Things Are Looking Up? A New Year’s Show Could the arrival of a new Congress and the more hopeful national tone be the start of a new era in American life? Heather and Joanne discuss past transitions between national epochs, from the advent of the Era of Good ...
12.28.2022 Encore: From Monopoly to Mystery Date How do board games reflect America? How do debates over politics and identity show up in popular games? And how have these games shifted along with the nation? In this holiday encore presentation of an August episode, Heather and Joanne ...
12.21.2022 Georgia (Voting Rights) On My Mind (with Carol Anderson) How have marginalized Georgians fought for voting rights and equality over the course of the state’s history? Emory University African American Studies Professor Carol Anderson joins Heather and Joanne for a special year-end episode to discuss the pain and promise ...
12.14.2022 Why "Terminating" the Constitution Matters Former President Trump has called for the termination of the Constitution and the overturning of the 2020 election. What makes Trump’s comments so dangerous? When has the Constitution been under siege before? And how can we protect the document that ...
12.07.2022 FTX, Con Men, and the Power of Grift Following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the undoing of its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, Heather and Joanne discuss the businesspeople and money-makers who have fallen hardest throughout American history. How do we find the line between the “con ...
11.30.2022 Encore: Speakers of the House: Velvet Gloves and Iron Fists How did the Speaker of the House become such a crucial role in Washington? How do Speakers balance control with collaboration? And how can iconic Speakers from the past help to contextualize Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s tenure? On this encore presentation ...
11.23.2022 Now & Then Live! The Unsung Voices Episode Now & Then presents a conversation between Heather and Joanne from last Thursday, November 17th, recorded live at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston. Heather and Joanne highlighted five objects in the Society’s collection that shed light on unsung brave ...
11.16.2022 The Power of the Youth Vote How did the youth impact last week’s midterm elections? And how have young people fought for representative democracy in American history? Heather and Joanne discuss the history of the youth vote in America, from the 1860 “Wide Awake” movement, to ...
11.08.2022 Power, Polling, & Public Opinion What should we make of political polls? Are they to be trusted? And why are Americans so interested in measuring public opinion? This week on Now & Then, Heather and Joanne discuss the history of polling in the United States, ...
11.02.2022 Fascism: Meanings and Methods The term 'fascism' is often invoked these days from voices on both the Left and the Right. Heather and Joanne start by defining the term and and have a conversation firmly rooted in history, from the proto-fascism of Southern enslavement, ...
10.26.2022 Fat Cats and Hidden Hands in Politics Why is there so much dark money in politics? How have political funders concealed their identities and motivations? And how does this sleight of hand damage American democracy? This week on Now & Then, Heather and Joanne discuss the role ...
10.19.2022 Educating a Nation: Higher Ed in Peril (with Will Bunch) How did college become so expensive? Why is higher education the subject of so much political and cultural division? And how can we restore a sense of equality to learning? This week on Now & Then, Philadelphia Inquirer national columnist ...
10.12.2022 The Meaning of Madison’s Flute: Who Owns Music? What can American instruments teach us about democracy? What does the controversy over Lizzo’s playing of James Madison’s crystal flute tell us about racism, representation, and the roots of our current cultural moment? Heather and Joanne discuss the evolution of ...
10.04.2022 Puerto Rico Has Stories to Tell How has Puerto Rico shaped American history? How does the national response to Hurricane Fiona reflect the complex relationship between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States? Heather and Joanne discuss Puerto Rico’s historical trajectory, from Spanish colonization, ...

Older episodes

Now & Then

What's Now & Then about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Now & Then episodes:

Heather Cox Richardson on Stay Tuned with Preet

Then...and Now

Looking Ahead: A Viewers’ Guide to Presidential Debates

Looking Ahead to 2024: Conventions, Caucuses, and the Balance of Democracy

Pardons: Politics & Power

The Women’s World Cup, Title IX, and Power

Telling Tales of History: The Florida Problem

Unions, Strikes, and the Public: What Matters?

Barbie, G.I. Joe, and the Gang: Dolls Are Us

The Third Party Problem

The Titan, the Sea, and What We See

The American Nation and Indigenous Nations: Sovereignty & Struggle

Presidential Lawyer Problems

There's Something in the Water

Texas Tall-Tales, Ken Paxton…and Us

Encore: Women Warriors: Ukraine & Beyond

The American Wellness Continuum: Alternative Medicine

The American Wellness Continuum: Traditional Medicine

Veep: The Real Story

Not a Joke: Humor as Politics

Supreme Court Scandals: A Story of Justice

Expulsions and Ousters: The Threat in Tennessee

Hostages as Messages

Canada and the One-Way Mirror

District Attorneys: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Why Americans Hate (and Love) Banks

Now & Then Backstage 3/15: Women Journalists and Their Fight to Be Heard

Women Journalists and Their Fight to Be Heard

Trash and Pollution: Who Pays?

Women Change Makers: Three Legal Battles

What UFOs Say About Us

Congressional Committees…and Power

Asian American Identities: A National Story (with Mary Lui)

Advisors and Chiefs of Staff: The Powers of the President’s People

The 'Constitutional Sheriff' Myth

Horses, Cats, and Chickens: Animal Power and Us

Things Are Looking Up? A New Year’s Show

Encore: From Monopoly to Mystery Date

Georgia (Voting Rights) On My Mind (with Carol Anderson)

Why "Terminating" the Constitution Matters

FTX, Con Men, and the Power of Grift

Encore: Speakers of the House: Velvet Gloves and Iron Fists

Now & Then Live! The Unsung Voices Episode

The Power of the Youth Vote

Power, Polling, & Public Opinion

Fascism: Meanings and Methods

Fat Cats and Hidden Hands in Politics

Educating a Nation: Higher Ed in Peril (with Will Bunch)

The Meaning of Madison’s Flute: Who Owns Music?

Puerto Rico Has Stories to Tell