Say It With History: Stories That Shaped the Past with Holley Snaith

Women have long helped shape bluegrass and country music, even when their contributions were not always given equal attention. Singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Pam Gadd reflects on her career from bluegrass festivals to the Grand Ole Opry, sharing stories of Wild Rose, Earl Scruggs, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, and the changing opportunities for women in country music.

Key Topics

• Women’s roles in bluegrass and country music
• The formation and significance of the all-female band Wild Rose
• Meeting and playing banjo with Earl Scruggs
• Performing with Porter Wagoner on the Grand Ole Opry
• Working with Dolly Parton and other country music legends
• Finding an authentic voice as a musician and songwriter
• Passing country and bluegrass traditions to new generations

Guest Bio

Pam Gadd is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and educator whose career spans bluegrass and country music. A founding member of Wild Rose, she has performed with artists including Porter Wagoner and Patty Loveless and appeared extensively on the Grand Ole Opry. Today, she continues to perform, record, and teach banjo, mandolin, and guitar.

Connect with Pam: Facebook | Instagram

Pam’s Music: Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Channel

Pam’s Work: Wild Rose Performing “Home Sweet Highway” | Porter Wagoner & Pam Gadd Sing “The Queen of the Silver Dollar” | Pam Gadd & Dolly Parton Perform “Applejack”  

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Lew Ayres is best remembered for All Quiet on the Western Front, but his life and career extended far beyond the role that made him famous. Film scholar Lesley L. Coffin explores Ayres’s Hollywood career, his controversial decision to become a conscientious objector during World War II, his intellectual and spiritual pursuits, and what his story reveals about celebrity, public perception, and the persistence of Hollywood myths.

Key Topics

• Lew Ayres and All Quiet on the Western Front
• His career within Hollywood’s studio system
• Becoming a conscientious objector during World War II
• Misconceptions surrounding his wartime service
• Ayres’s letters, unpublished writings, and intellectual interests
• His return to Hollywood and later career
• Celebrity, public image, and the creation of Hollywood myths

Guest Bio

Lesley L. Coffin is a film scholar, journalist, interviewer, and critic with a master’s degree in star studies from New York University. She is the author of Hitchcock’s Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System and Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector, published by University Press of Mississippi.

Connect with Lesley: LinkedIn

Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector: University Press of Mississippi | Bookshop Ebook

Books Mentioned: The Stars Appear by Richard Dyer Maccann Bookshop

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Unit 731 remains one of the most disturbing and lesser-known chapters of World War II. Historian Jenny Chan explores Japan’s secret biological warfare program, the role of the U.S. government in its postwar history, and why these atrocities remained largely unfamiliar to Western audiences for decades.

Key Topics

• Unit 731 and Japan’s biological warfare program
• The U.S. government’s role in the postwar aftermath
• Why these atrocities remained little known in the West
• World War II in the Asia-Pacific region
• Media narratives and the shaping of public memory
• Preserving and teaching difficult histories

Guest Bio

Jenny Chan is the director of Pacific Atrocities Education, a nonprofit dedicated to researching and teaching the history of World War II atrocities in the Asia-Pacific region. Her work encompasses subjects including Unit 731, the Nanjing Massacre, the invasion of Manchuria, and the “comfort women” system through research, publications, digital archives, and educational

Connect with Jenny: Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube

Books Mentioned: Marutas of Unit 731 by Jenny Chan Paperback 

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Joe DiMaggio became one of America’s most recognizable sports figures, but the man behind the public image remains more complicated than the legend. Researcher Kelly Lacroix explores DiMaggio’s relationship with fame and the press, his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, and the enduring myths that have shaped how he is remembered in American culture.

Key Topics

• Joe DiMaggio’s rise from baseball star to cultural icon
• His complicated relationship with fame and the media
• Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe
• Myths and misconceptions surrounding his life
• The intersection of sports and Hollywood history
• How celebrity and cultural memory shape historical reputations

Guest Bio

Kelly Lacroix is a French-born researcher and film professional based in the United Kingdom. A longtime student of classic Hollywood, she has spent the past five years researching Joe DiMaggio through her Finding Joe DiMaggio project, examining the gap between the public mythology surrounding him and the man behind the legend.

Connect with Kelly: Instagram | Threads | Facebook

Items from the Estate of Joe DiMaggio—Hunt Auction House: View Lots

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Elizabeth Willing Powel occupied a fascinating place within the political and social world of America’s founding generation. Historian Samantha Snyder explores Powel’s relationships with figures such as George Washington and John Adams, the ways women exercised influence through correspondence, conversation, hospitality, and social networks, and why Powel’s role in the early republic deserves greater recognition.

Key Topics

• Elizabeth Willing Powel’s life and legacy
• Women’s influence during the American founding
• Powel’s relationships with George Washington and John Adams
• Politics and society in early Philadelphia
• Correspondence, hospitality, and social networks as forms of influence
• Challenging misconceptions about women’s roles in the founding era

Guest Bio

Samantha Snyder is a Research Librarian at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon and author of the forthcoming A Remarkable Woman: Elizabeth Willing Powel and the Founding of the American Republic. She has spent nearly a decade researching Powel’s life, drawing on archival research and public history to recover her place in the story of the American founding.

Connect with Samantha: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

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Lauren Bacall became an icon of Hollywood almost overnight, but her life and career extended far beyond the image created during her early years. Film historian Anthony Uzarowski explores Bacall’s rise to fame, her legendary relationship with Humphrey Bogart, and her decades-long effort to establish herself as an actress and public figure on her own terms.

Key Topics

• Lauren Bacall’s rise to fame during Hollywood’s Golden Age
• The creation of her distinctive public image
• Bacall’s relationship and career with Humphrey Bogart
• Building an identity and career beyond Bogart’s legacy
• Her transition between Hollywood and Broadway
• The challenges and reinventions of a seven-decade career
• The woman behind the enduring “Queen of Cool” image

Guest Bio

Anthony Uzarowski is a film historian and author of Lauren Bacall: The Queen of Cool. His other books include Jessica Lange: An Adventurer’s Heart and Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies, and his writing on film and the arts has appeared in The Guardian, Turner Classic Movies, Film International, and other publications.

Connect with Anthony: Instagram

Lauren Bacall: The Queen of Cool: Hardcover | Ebook | University Press of Mississippi

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Family history can reveal far more than names, dates, and family trees. Author Ben Robinson explores how letters, photographs, and archival records helped him reconstruct the life of his great-grandmother Charlotte and uncover a larger family story shaped by two world wars, resilience, and change across the twentieth century.

Key Topics

• Using letters, photographs, and archives to uncover family history
• Moving beyond names and dates to reconstruct individual lives
• Women’s voices and experiences in family history
• Family life during World War I and World War II
• Balancing historical evidence with fictionalized storytelling
• Preserving family stories for future generations
• The connections between personal history and larger historical events

Guest Bio

Ben Robinson is a British writer, educator, and author of Finding Charlotte, a part-fictionalized historical memoir inspired by the life of his great-grandmother. Drawing on more than 100 family letters, documents, and photographs, his work explores family, war, memory, and the ways personal stories can illuminate the broader past.

Connect with Ben: Instagram

Finding Charlotte: Books-A-Million | Amazon

Shows Mentioned: The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2025)

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Marguerite “Missy” LeHand was one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s closest and most influential aides, yet her role in his presidency has often been misunderstood or overlooked. Author Kathryn Smith explores LeHand’s partnership with FDR, the importance of Warm Springs in their story, and the broader ways women exercised influence behind the scenes of American political power.

Key Topics

• Missy LeHand’s life and partnership with Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Her influence within the Roosevelt White House
• Myths and misconceptions surrounding Missy’s role
• The significance of Warm Springs in FDR and LeHand’s story
• Women working behind the scenes of presidential power
• Parallels between Missy LeHand and Martha Washington
• Bringing historical figures to life through research and performance

Guest Bio

Kathryn Smith is a journalist, historian, author, and speaker whose work explores overlooked people and stories in American history. She is the author of The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Partnership that Defined a Presidency, Gertie, Baptists and Bootleggers, and Methodists and Moonshiners. She also co-authors the Missy LeHand Mystery series with Kelly Durham.

The Gatekeeper: Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Kathryn: Website | Facebook | Substack

Explore Kathryn’s Other Works: Evening Post Books

Books Mentioned: The Washingtons by Flora Fraser Paperback | Ebook

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O’Donnell Golf Club has been part of Palm Springs history since 1929, reflecting the growth of golf, tourism, and community life across the Coachella Valley. General Manager Alexandra Phillips explores the club’s remarkable past, its connections to figures including Gene Sarazen and Bob Hope, and the traditions, architecture, and preservation efforts that continue to shape its place in Palm Springs today.

Key Topics

• The history of O’Donnell Golf Club and golf in Palm Springs
• O’Donnell’s national historic designation and architecture
• Gene Sarazen, Bob Hope, and other figures connected to the club
• The history of Inspiration Point and the Easter Sunrise tradition
• O’Donnell’s role in the Palm Springs community
• Historic preservation and stewardship of the property
• Balancing O’Donnell’s legacy with its future

Guest Bio

Alexandra Phillips, MBA, PGA, CMAA, is the General Manager of O’Donnell Golf Club, the oldest golf club in the Coachella Valley. A former professional golfer, she combines her experience in the sport with executive leadership and a commitment to preserving O’Donnell’s history while guiding the historic club into its next chapter.

Connect with O’Donnell Golf Club: Website | Instagram

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Bennett Cerf helped transform American publishing while becoming a cultural figure in his own right. Author Gayle Feldman explores the Random House cofounder’s remarkable life, from his relationships with some of the twentieth century’s most influential writers to the landmark Ulysses censorship case and his place at the intersection of publishing, television, Hollywood, Broadway, and American culture.

Key Topics

• Bennett Cerf and the founding of Random House
• The transformation of American publishing in the twentieth century
• Cerf’s relationships with Truman Capote, Gertrude Stein, Ayn Rand, Dr. Seuss, and other writers
• The Ulysses censorship case and freedom of expression
• Cerf’s friendships and connections across publishing and popular culture
• His television fame on What’s My Line?
• The cultural influence and legacy of Random House

Guest Bio

Gayle Feldman is an author and longtime publishing journalist whose work has appeared in Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller, The New York Times, and other publications. She is the author of Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built, the result of more than twenty-three years of research and more than 200 interviews.

Connect with Gayle: Website

Nothing Random: Hardcover | Ebook | Penguin Random House

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