We're sharing the first episode of a new podcast we think you'll enjoy. It's called "Country Over Self: Defining Moments in American History."

In each episode of this miniseries, host Matt Blumberg interviews a different presidential historian about a pivotal moment when a president chose to put their country ahead of their party and themselves.

In this episode, Matt talks with Julian Zelizer about the 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson, and how Johnson used his detailed knowledge of the legislative process and his unique blend of personal intimidation and charm offensive to bring about what he considered the moral imperative of his day: Civil Rights and Voting Rights.

To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to www.countryoverself.com

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/PLODDING and get on your way to being your best self.

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We’re joined by Savannah Eccles Johnston (savypolitics on Instagram and cohost of the new podcast This Constitution) to talk about the formation of the American presidency, checks and balances, and the death of institutions at the hands of partisanship. First we take a look at what the American presidency might have looked like, if Alexander Hamilton got his way.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/PLODDING and get on your way to being your best self.

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Vote.

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We're excited to share an episode of the Southern Gothic podcast coproduced by Howard, who also pops up as a guest commentator.

This is the story of "The Thing," a supernatural entity who reportedly terrorized the White House staff in 1911, and the key players involved: chief of staff Archibald Butt, President William Howard Taft, and lady's maid Florence Marsh—the only person to have actually seen the ghost. Southern Gothic host Brandon Schexnayder takes us on a journey through this haunting and explores possible identities of this ghost based on Florence's description.

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We dig into the history of the Freemasons, focusing on the disappearance and alleged murder of William Morgan, the mysterious man who wrote a book exposing their secrets in 1826. The conspiracy to protect those involved and the intense public backlash led to the first third party in America, the Anti-Masonic Party. Though short-lived, they managed to rack up a few electoral votes in the Election of 1832 with William Wirt as their reluctant presidential nominee. It's a tale of two Williams, one missing skull, and a prime example of the Streisand effect.

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We welcome author and human guinea pig A.J. Jacobs to chat about his new book The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning. For a year he tried to put himself in the shoes—and tricorn hat—of the founders, and he shares what he learned from an absurd and enlightening immersion into the document that defines our nation.

NEW: Please send us your Local Lore — hometown histories, interesting historical markers, and weird local claims to fame! Send them to [email protected] and we might feature them in an upcoming series!

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First, we talk about how a day of fasting and prayer in 1798 turned into a night of fear and flying "cockades." Then we’re joined by presidential historian Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, author of the new book Making The Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged The Republic, for an insightful conversation about how President John Adams was a much savvier politician than he gets credit for—especially considering he was surrounded by saboteurs and jerkfaces.  

NEW: Please send us your Local Lore — hometown histories, interesting historical markers, and weird local claims to fame! Send them to [email protected] and we might feature them in an upcoming series!

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We explore Thomas Jefferson's love of mockingbirds, especially his favorite pet mockingbird, Dick. We also look at what this tells us about Jefferson's personality and why mockingbirds are anything but innocent.

NEW: Please send us your Local Lore — hometown histories, interesting historical markers, and weird local claims to fame! Send them to [email protected] and we might feature them in an upcoming series!

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Andrew Jackson’s legacy is forever tied to the Trail of Tears, but what role did he actually play in the controversial Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the atrocities that followed? We look at how much blame Jackson deserves by evaluating 7 of the most common points used to defend him—including the ideas that Indian removal was popular and inevitable, and that Jackson had the best interests of Native Americans at heart.

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We’re joined by Paul M. Sparrow, former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, to discuss the subject of his exciting new book “Awakening the Spirit of America: FDR’s War on Words with Charles Lindbergh—and the Battle to Save Democracy” and the ways those struggles are mirrored today.

We look at how Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh were leading voices against American involvement in World War II, believing that democracy’s stint might be over and that totalitarianism was the wave of the future—and how FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt used their voices to inspire a nation to fight for democracy and freedom.

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We explore the final years and legacy of Lyncoya, the Native American child raised at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, focusing on Jackson's attempt to get Lyncoya into West Point Military Academy and the way Lyncoya has been memorialized in Calhoun County, Alabama.

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Key sources for this episode include The Andrew Jackson Papers published by the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Dawn Peterson's "Indians in the Family: Adoption and the Politics of Antebellum Expansion," Christina Snyder's essay “Andrew Jackson’s Indian Son” from the book "The Native South" edited by Tim Alan Garrison and Greg O’Brien, and Melissa Gismondi's dissertation "Rachel Jackson and the Search for Zion, 1760s-1830s"

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