Journalist and scholar E.J. Dionne joins host Gil Troy to examine the power struggles between the president and Congress - struggles that have intensified in today’s hyper-partisan era. From George Washington’s reluctant service and the founders’ vision of checks and balances, to today’s entrenched partisan battlegrounds, they explore how political polarization has reshaped the balance of power in American government.

Dionne and Troy consider key historical moments, from Watergate to the Clinton impeachment, and ask whether bipartisan cooperation is still possible or simply a relic of a vanished political culture and era. They also consider moments when presidents bridged divides - or failed to - and debate whether the symbolic power of the office can still unify a fractured nation; is unity a lost ideal, or a goal worth reclaiming?

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

George Washington’s Dread of Becoming the President, 1789

James K. Polk Declares the Presidency Too Important an Office to be Sought or Declined, 1844

Warren Harding on American Statesmanship and Lincoln, 1923

Chapters

(00:00) Opening

(00:31) Introduction: The Presidency in a Divided Congress

(03:26) George Washington’s Integrity and the Birth of Presidential Power

(06:25) Hamilton as “Prime Minister”? Early Partisanship and Coalition Government

(08:03) The Constitution’s Blind Spot: Ignoring Political Parties

(11:21) The Civil War as America’s Second Founding and a New Constitution

(14:22) Presidents as Historians, Reformers, and Problem-Solvers

(16:41) Golden Ages in Politics? Nostalgia and Presidential Leadership

(20:26) Great Presidents and Great Crises: Do Moments Make the Leader?

(22:30) Warren G. Harding, Normalcy, and the Limits of Presidential Power

(25:51) Expanding Presidential Power: Theodore Roosevelt to FDR

(28:37) Congress vs. the Presidency: Henry Clay, LBJ, and Eisenhower

(31:34) Nixon’s Domestic Legacy: EPA, Social Policy, and Congress

(34:09) The Cold War, Bipartisanship, and America’s Two-Party System

(38:25) Political Polarization, Trump, and the Decline of Cross-Party Friendships

(42:00) Unlikely Alliances: Ted Kennedy, Orrin Hatch, and Health Care Reform

(43:44) Clinton, Bush, Obama: Unified vs. Divided Government in Action

(49:05) Symbolic Power of the Presidency: Oklahoma City to 9/11

(53:09) Ronald Reagan’s “Time for Choosing” and Presidential Rhetoric

(56:04) Presidential Evolution: JFK, Civil Rights, and Changing Leadership

(56:55) Summary

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

Acclaimed historian Patricia Limerick joins host Gil Troy to explore how presidential power was reshaped by the relentless march of America’s westward expansion. Beneath the lofty rhetoric of Manifest Destiny, they uncover the practical realities of conquest, dispossession, and the explosive growth of federal authority needed to drive it forward.

Tracing how frontier dreams gave rise to federal sprawl - and how Jeffersonian ideals collided with the machinery of land offices, standing armies, and Interior departments - Limerick brings wit and nuance to a story too often flattened into myth.This is the expansion of power - executive, federal, and destined to reshape the world.

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

President James Monroe on Purchase of Florida, 1821

Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal Reclamation Act in Relation to Westward Expansion

John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier Speech, 1960

Chapters

(0:00) Opening

(0:04) How America Became an Accidental Empire

(0:38) Introducing Patricia Limerick: Historian of the American West

(1:54) Presidential Humor and the Power of the Fool in History

(4:11) Reagan, Roosevelt, and the Role of Humor in Leadership

(6:40) Manifest Destiny Debunked: Land, Myth, and Migration

(10:17) The Real Cost of Westward Expansion for Settlers

(11:02) Conquest and Consequences: Native Displacement and Injustice

(18:06) Nostalgia vs. Reality: Rewriting the Myth of the West

(20:19) How 19th-Century Presidents Shaped Land Expansion

(23:55) Land, Power, and the Birth of American Empire

(26:51) Bureaucracy and the Federal Government’s Rise in the West

(27:26) Debunking the Myth of Small Government in U.S. History

(30:21) Civil War Aftermath: Army Growth and Federal Authority

(31:20) American Individualism vs. Government Support in the West

(33:22) Closing the Frontier: National Identity After Expansion

(35:13) Roosevelt’s Reclamation Act and Federal Land Policy

(39:44) JFK’s New Frontier and the Legacy of Manifest Destiny

(43:35) Historians as Fixers: Cleaning Up the Narrative of the West

(47:00) Harvesting Hope: What the American West Can Still Teach Us

(49:54) Summary and Credits

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

In this episode, Professor Gil Troy speaks with Dr. Tevi Troy about the high-stakes moment when one presidency ends and another begins, and why transitions matter far beyond inauguration day. They explore how civility, partisanship, and preparation shape the handoff of power. 

Drawing on history and firsthand experience, Dr. Troy reflects on the difference between opponents and enemies, and how the tone of a transition can influence the tone of a nation and its faith in democracy itself. What does it take to lose power and pass it on - with dignity? And what can we learn from past transitions to navigate today's political divides?

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

JFK Letter Thanking Eisenhower For a Smooth Transfer of Power, January 1, 1961

Chapters

(0:00) Opening

(0:34) Introduction: Presidential Transfer of Power

(2:18) Setting the Tone with 1952 and 1960 Transitions

(4:45) Honesty and Resentment in Presidential Handovers

(7:26) The Club of Presidents and Symbolic Civility

(8:08) Modeling Behavior and Respect in Office

(10:00) Shifting Party Lines and “Barely a Democrat”

(14:01) The Worst Transitions in History

(16:29) Formalizing Transitions: Policy and Preparation

(18:44) Transition vs. Brand Differentiation

(21:25) Governing with 4,000 Appointees

(21:49) The Gold Standard Transition: Bush to Obama

(26:36) The Bittersweet End of a Presidency

(28:24) Life After the White House

(29:57) How History Judges Presidential Decisions

(31:09) Divisive Presidents: Nixon and Wilson

(38:47) Unifying Presidents and Leadership Skills

(43:39) Character, Patriotism, and Presidential Legacy

(45:15) Closing and Credits

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

What kind of character does it take to lead the free world? In an age of global tension, where American presidents weigh alliances and warfare with the power to shape history, we explore how presidential character turned the U.S. from an isolated republic into a global superpower

Gil Troy is joined by bestselling author and political commentator John Avlon to trace the foreign policy legacy of the American presidency - from George Washington’s warning against foreign entanglements to Ronald Reagan’s moral stand against the Soviet Union.

Focusing on pivotal moments like World War I, FDR’s leadership before Pearl Harbor, and the Cold War consensus, they explore how values, vision, and presidential courage helped America project strength - and when it failed to live up to its ideals.

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

Ronald Reagan at the Berlin Wall, Demanding Gorbachev “Tear Down This Wall”

Chapters

(00:00) Opening

(00:21) Introduction: Power Without Borders

(02:20) Washington’s Farewell: Isolationism vs. Independence

(07:23) Idealism and the Founders’ Foreign Policy Vision

(09:51) Rethinking the Monroe Doctrine

(15:27) Lincoln, Character, and Foreign Policy Foundations

(20:51) Lincoln’s Legacy: Winning the Peace

(23:58) U.S. Grant at Appomattox: Moral Leadership in Action

(24:37) World War I and the Failure to Win the Peace

(29:29) Roosevelt, Lend-Lease, and Pre-WWII Strategy

(33:07) American Psyche in the Interwar Period

(36:18) Democracy vs. Authoritarianism in the Great Depression

(38:57) FDR’s Leadership: Guiding a Divided Nation

(43:48) Roosevelt’s Letter to Harry Woodring & Leadership Nuance

(44:58) Bipartisanship and the Cold War Consensus

(48:19) The Greatest Generation and Their Legacy

(51:06) Reagan’s “Evil Empire” and Moral Clarity

(55:02) Moynihan, Reagan, and Confidence in Democracy

(56:50) Summary

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

We say we want authenticity in a president, but how much are we really entitled to know, and who gets to draw that line? Historian David Greenberg joins host Gil Troy to examine how the presidency has become, in part, a public relations performance shaped by evolving media, shifting expectations, and the public’s growing appetite for access. From George Washington’s measured gravitas to Barack Obama’s strategic self-presentation, Greenberg and Troy trace how image, communications, mass media, and executive control have defined, and sometimes distorted, the office.

In an age of nonstop coverage, viral speculation, and questions about presidential health and candor, this episode asks: where’s the line between necessary transparency and the illusion of total access? How have changing norms around privacy and scrutiny reshaped what we expect and want in a president? What gets lost in a democracy when we expect presidents to be both powerful leaders and fully public figures? And what do we lose when the performance overtakes the substance?

This is a conversation about the high-stakes theater of leadership, and how every president, whatever their ideology, must navigate the conflicting demands of democracy, power, and public life.

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit:

Signed Photograph of Pres. Ronald Reagan at 1987 Speech Demanding, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”

Chapters

(0:00) Opening

(0:26) Introduction: The Art of Presidential Leadership

(1:38) Guest Introduction: David Greenberg

(1:41) Nixon’s Shadow and the Power of Presidential Image

(4:05) Public vs. Private: The Blurred Lines of the Presidency

(6:56) Privacy, Press, and Democratic Tensions

(8:05) Image, Character, and the Leadership Paradox

(11:15) Spin and the Language of Politics

(15:17) The Founding Vision and the Presidency’s Design

(18:05) The Presidency’s Shift from Congress to Executive Power

(20:19) George Washington’s Legacy and Presidential Restraint

(23:59) Communicating Unity in the Early Republic

(25:40) Coolidge and the Power of Persona

(27:15) Jefferson’s Burden and the Glorious Cost of Power

(30:38) Leadership, Compromise, and Real-World Politics

(36:49) The Expanding Scope of Presidential Responsibility

(41:16) Institutions, Infrastructure, and Executive Complexity

(44:41) The Personal Toll of the Presidency

(53:58) What Makes a Great President?

(56:02) Summary

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory 

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

What are the historical, cultural, strategic, and values-based foundations that sustain the enduring US-Israel alliance? Host Gil Troy and historian and theologian R. Yitz Greenberg discuss the key factors that underpin, and the historic moments that have shaped the partnership between the United States and Israel. 

R. Yitz Greenberg is an American historian, author, and theologian. Known for promoting understanding between Judaism and Christianity, he earned a PhD in American history from Harvard University, was an associate professor of history at Yeshiva University, and a founder, chairman, and professor in the Department of Jewish Studies of the City College of New York . He is currently the Senior Scholar in Residence at Yeshivat Hadar. 

(0:00) Opening

(0:44) Introduction

(5:39) Truman Letter

(7:39) Ben-Gurion Letter

(9:13) Interview with Yitz Greenberg

(36:40) Summary

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

Check out Yitz Greenberg’s 5 favorite books:

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

How did a shift in educational philosophy in the 1960s pave the way not only for contemporary social justice movements but for today’s neo-antisemitism? Host Gil Troy and Dr. Rachel Fish discuss the identity of Jews as an ethnoreligious minority group, the confusion surrounding the recent and ongoing campus antisemitism, the centrality of critical thinking skills in early and continuing education, and the crisis of meaning and transcendence in today’s society, and finally, how to take steps towards positive change.

Dr. Rachel Fish is Special Advisor to The Brandeis University Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education, a Visiting Assistant Professor at The George Washington University, and co-founder of the non-profit Boundless.

(0:00) Opening

(0:30) Introduction

(3:22) Bialik Letter

(5:50) Ben-Gurion Letter

(7:36) Interview with Rachel Fish

(39:56) Summary

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

Check out Rachel Fish’s 5 favorite books:

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

How do soldiers find the resilience to enter war and how can society support them when they return or their families when they do not? Host Gil Troy and IDF Bereavement Officer & Clinical Advisor Akiva Harrow discuss how the Israeli Defense Forces supports families who have lost loved ones in service and how October 7th changed the debriefing process for combat soldiers who have returned from the warfront. 

This episode explores questions of individual and collective meaning, resilience, bereavement, and psychological health during wars, pasts and present.

(0:00) Opening

(0:24) Introduction

(9:32) Interview with Akiva Harrow

(31:44) Summary

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit:

Letter From Sgt. First Class Ben Zussman To His Parents, On His Way To War, In The Event Of His Death Published December 11, 2023

US Civil War Soldier Describes The Chaos Of War During The Bermuda Hundred Campaign June 2, 1864

Check out Akiva Harrow’s 5 favorite books:

1. Man in Search of Meaning by Viktor Frankel.

2. Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck

3. ⁠The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

4. ⁠Homo Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harrari.

5. ⁠Benjamin Franklin autobiography

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory 

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org

When a democracy is at war, what does it mean to serve your country? Host Gil Troy and Brooking Institution Senior Fellow & Wall Street Journal Columnist William Galston discuss how the perception of rights and obligations is affected by the collective experience or its absence - of defending one’s country, and how those experiences can reshape a society. 

With a focus on US and Israeli policies and the context of the Israel-Hamas war, this episode explores questions of shared burden, equality, societal values, and effective governance, while texts and observations from US history illustrate these ongoing democratic debates.

(0:00) Opening

(0:34) Introduction

(3:22) Theodore Roosevelt Letter

(4:14) Interview with William Galston

(24:11) Summary

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

- President Abraham Lincoln’s Civil War Draft Order That Sparked The 1863 New York Draft Riots July 7, 1863

- Former President Theodore Roosevelt Writes Of His Sons’ Participation In WWI August 14, 1918

Check out William Galson’s 5 favorite books:

- David Hartman, Israelis and the Jewish Tradition

- John Judis, The Politics of Our Time

- Serhii Plokhy, The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

- Susan Shirk, Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise

- Michael Walzer, The Struggle for a Decent Politics

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Production by docyourstory

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: ⁠www.shapell.org

Comments & Corrections:

- The Moral Equivalent of War by American philosopher William James.

- Ultra-orthodox army service in Israel and volunteers: Following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, approximately 2,000 Israeli ultra-Orthodox men volunteered to join the IDF. However, it is unclear how many of these volunteers completed their enlistment, as volunteer enlistment can be influenced by multiple factors. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense website, about 6,000 ultra-Orthodox men are currently serving in the IDF, though this data may not be up-to-date.

After the initial recording of this podcast episode, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in June 2024, mandating the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men into the military and ending their longstanding group exemptions. The court viewed these exemptions as invalid selective enforcement. The decision was driven by the principle of equal protection under the law, highlighting the inequity of the existing exemption system. This ruling came amid heightened tensions and increased demands on the military following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, underscoring the importance of equitable burden-sharing in society.

When do democracies go to war and how do leaders navigate wartime decisions in a just way? Host Gil Troy and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren discuss the moral dilemmas that emerge during modern-day conflict, with a focus on the Israel-Hamas War and Middle-Eastern tensions with Western democracies. Drawing on manuscripts from the American Civil War and WWII, we take a glimpse at how Presidents Lincoln and Truman approached the existential national crises of their day and examine what can be learned from their leadership and choices.

(00:00) Opening

(01:25) Introduction

(03:05) Letter: Harry Truman and World War II

(07:55) Letter: Lincoln and the Civil War

(14:01) Interview with Michael Oren

(33:03) Summary

(34:59) On the next episode

To read the texts and learn more about the manuscripts discussed in this episode, visit: 

- President Harry Truman Defends Use Of The Atomic Bomb In WWII August 11, 1945

- “With Malice Toward None” Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address - Signed Quotation

- “Both Parties Deprecated War” Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address - Signed Quotation

- Abraham Lincoln’s Response To Thurlow Weed’s Complimentary Letter On The  Inaugural Address  March 15, 1865

- A Civil War Union Soldier Vividly Describes A Civil War Battle June 8, 1862

Check out Michael Oren’s 5 favorite books:

- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

- Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

- Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi 

- Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth 

- Books of the Maccabees

- Any book by Elizabeth Strout

Watch the trailer to Oppenheimer. The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and by signing up for our newsletter at shapell.org/contact. For more information about this podcast, visit The Human Side of History.

Comments & Corrections:

Both Gil and Michael reference a number of "potential casualties" that were avoided with the dropping of the atomic bomb in WWII. Various military experts and historians disagree on what the number of potential casualties saved would have been. Some military experts have said that the correct number was likely much lower than the one estimated at the time of Truman’s decision-making. The discrepancy between the different numbers referenced by Gil and Michael highlights how much these numbers are estimations, taking into account different variables.

LST stands for “Landing Ship, Tank”, or tank landing ship, a kind of large ship first developed during WWII that carries tanks, vehicles, cargo, and troops, and can land on beaches without the need for docks or piers. 

Production by docyourstory

Sound by Idan Koka

Music by Adam Weingrod

The show is produced by The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. To learn more about the foundation and discover the manuscript collection visit: www.shapell.org