On August 15th, 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States for a grand farewell tour. It was his first visit since leaving the US in the late 1780s. The tour was a unifying moment for a deeply divided country.  In the wake of a crippling economic downturn, and a fracturing over the Missouri question and the issue of slavery, the nation was in the midst of a bitter Presidential election. The first without a political or military hero of the American Revolution on the ballot. Lafayette’s visit, if only for a moment, reminded the nation of the Spirit of 76 and their beloved adopted French son.

Thanks to the organization, American Friends of Lafayette, for the next thirteen months, Lafayette 200 celebrations will retrace the steps of the Marquee de Lafayette’s historic tour.

On this episode of the Road to Now we welcome Historical Interpreter, Mark Schneider. Mark has embodied Lafayette for over 25 years. Along the way he has educated students of history young and old about Lafayette’s life and the role he played in the American Revolution.

If you enjoy this episode, make sure to check out our episode on The Lafayette Trail w/ Julian Ischer on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.

Journalist David Menconi has documented the people and sounds of North Carolina’s music scene for almost three decades. In this episode, Ben and guest co-host Dolph Ramseur speak with David about his book Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk, and how the music of “The Old North State” is both reflected in, and a reflection of, its people.

David Menconi spent 28 years writing for the Raleigh News & Observer and was Piedmont Laureate in 2019. His other works include Ryan Adams: Losering, A Story of Whiskeytown" (University of Texas Press, 2012); "Comin’ Right at Ya: How a Jewish Yankee Hippie Went Country, or, the Often Outrageous History of Asleep at the Wheel. (co-written with Ray Benson, University of Texas Press, 2015). You can follow him on twitter at @NCDavidMenconi.

Guest co-host Dolph Ramseur is the founder of Ramseur Records and a member of the North Carolina Hall of Fame.

If you enjoy this episode, make sure to check out David's second appearance on our show in episode #286 Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music. 

If you’re enjoying The Road to Now, please consider joining us on Patreon, giving us a 5 star rating/review on Apple podcasts and sharing this episode with a friend who might also enjoy it. Thank you!

This is a rebroadcast of RTN #182, which originally aired on October 19, 2020. This reair was edited by Ben Sawyer. 

The Stone Pony and its hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey are iconic settings in the story of some of America’s greatest rock musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and Southside Johnny Lyon. The Pony’s path from high-risk passion project to iconic venue was, however, anything but direct; from its founding in 1974, the club was caught in the greater forces at work in late-20th century America.

So how did the Stone Pony thrive when so many other venues closed? And what set Asbury Park apart from so many other American towns? In this episode, The New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti joins us to talk about his new book I Don’t Want To Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony (Harpers, 2024) and what he learned from interviewing Bruce Springsteen and dozens of other musicians and industry professionals who helped make the club into what it is today.

If you enjoy this episode, make sure to check out our episodes on The Kinks with Mark Doyle and The Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East with Bob Beatty.

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.

Joe Biden has decided to decline the Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 2024 so today we take a look back at Biden’s path to seek the nomination in 2020 and Ben shares his thoughts on why July 21, 2024 might be the day that secures Biden’s legacy in American history.

Our conversation with Robert Costa on his book Peril, which he co-authored with Robert Woodward, originally aired as RTN episode 213 on November 15, 2021. This episode includes an edited version of that conversation with a new introduction by Ben. The original episode description is below:

The 2020 Presidential election was one of the most tumultuous in American history, and while Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump is settled, Trump’s refusal to accept defeat has had implications that transcend his time in the oval office. In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Robert Costa, whose new book Peril draws on his and co-author Bob Woodward’s extensive investigation of the Biden and Trump campaigns and Trump’s handling of executive power during his time in office. Robert explains how he finds and vets sources, his method of “deep background” interviews, and how he maintains journalistic disinterest in the face of intense partisan conflict. He also discusses what he learned about Trump and Biden as candidates and individuals and why he believes that the peril that characterized the Trump-Biden transition remains a source of concern more than a year after the 2020 election.

Robert Costa is the chief election & campaign correspondent for CBS News, where he covers national politics and American democracy. You can follow him on twitter at @CostaReports.

If you enjoyed this conversation, check out our previous conversation with Robert in RTN #130 Sources, Methods & Music w/ Robert Costa.

“I think you’ve always been fair.” -Donald Trump to Robert Woodward

Full Audio of Trump’s phone call with Bob Woodward about the publication of Fear, August 14, 2018.

This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

When the Erie Canal opened in the 1820s, it brought with it an industrial system that radically transformed the daily lives of the American farmers who lived in the region. Out of this disruption came some of America’s earliest labor actions, the rise of new Christian sects, and America’s first daredevil, Sam Patch, who dazzled the masses and offended the powers that be simply by jumping off higher and higher things into water.

Why did Sam Patch become a national figure whose actions drew acclaim across the country? Why did those in power denounce Patch’s exhibitions as “irrational fun” and seek to stop him from performing? And how does Patch’s life tell the greater story of the Jacksonian Era and catch the attention of Jackson himself? The answers to all that and more are right here in Rivers Langley’s expertly crafted story, as told to Ben and Narado Moore.

Rivers Langley is a Los Angeles-based comic, host of The Goods from the Woods podcast, and a scriptwriter for The Dollop. Links to Ben’s appearances on TGFTW below.

Narado Moore is a Birmingham-based standup comic, host of the Uncle Rod’s Story Corner podcast and co-host of Roy’s Job Fair with Roy Wood Jr.

The story of Sam Patch, as told to Ben and Narado Moore was recorded in December, 2021 and originally aired as part of Goods From the Woods #310 “Sam Patch: America’s First Daredevil w/ Ben Sawyer & Narado Moore. This episode includes a new introduction/conversation with Rivers Langley about Patch’s place in history and how we can see his story in American life today. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Links:

“Confederate Submarine HL Hunley: A Terrible Idea w/ Ben Sawyer” from Goods From the Woods #203.

“The Destruction of the Georgia Guidestones w/ Ben Sawyer” clip from GFTW #337

“A Tour Guide’s History of Los Angeles w/ Rivers Langley” RTN #202 – Spotify - Apple

Patricia O’Toole’s The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made (Simon & Schuster, 2018) examines the life of a President whose policy was guided by his personal sense of morality. From today’s perspective, Woodrow Wilson’s time in the White House (1913-1921) seems full of contradictions. He supported a constitutional amendment to ensure women’s suffrage, but oversaw the re-segregation of America’s civil service. He championed national self-determination for the people of Europe, but readily deployed US soldiers to intervene in Latin America. And he won re-election with the slogan “He Kept Us Out Of War,” yet called for America’s entry into World War I just a little over a month after his second inauguration. In spite this, O’Toole says that a close examination of Wilson’s thought and policy reveals a consistent world view that binds these seemingly contradictory actions together.

Patricia O’Toole is the author of five books, including The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams (Simon & Schuster, 2006), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She previously taught in the School of the Arts at Columbia University was a fellow of the Society of American Historians.

This is a rebroadcast of RTN #93 which originally aired on April 30, 2018. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

On July 4th, we celebrate American Independence. But, as Ben argues in his new intro to this episode, the real gift of the founding generation was more than that: it’s the inheritance of the revolution.

George Washington is one of the most revered figures in American history. As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Washington led his troops to one of the most unlikely and world-shaking victories in modern history, and his selection as President of both the Constitutional Convention and the new government designed that summer in Philadelphia, demonstrate the unmatched faith that the founders had in General Washington. Today, however, we tend to remember Washington more for the jobs he held than for the personal qualities that made him a remarkable member of the founding generation, but the wisdom left to us by our first President in his farewell address is perhaps more relevant today than ever before. In this episode of The Road to Now we explain why in our discussion with Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon about his book Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations. 

Our conversation with John Avlon originally aired as RTN #48 which originally aired on March 13, 2017. This episode includes an updated intro reflecting on the American Revolution by Ben Sawyer, recorded July 1, 2024. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

In 1866, the Fenian Brotherhood, comprised primarily of Irish Civil War veterans, led a series of attacks on Canadian provinces just across the border from the United States. Their goal: seize Canadian territory and exchange it for Irish independence. Similar raids continued until 1871, and although they were ultimately unsuccessful, they are part of a greater story of the American Civil War, Irish Independence, and trans-Atlantic immigration to the United States in the mid-19th Century. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Christopher Klein about his book When the Irish Invaded America: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom (Doubleday, 2019).

Christopher Klein is an author and freelance writer specializing in history. He writes stories about the past that inform us about the present and guide us to the future. He is the author of four books, including Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero, and a frequent contributor to history.com and many other media outlets.

This is a rebroadcast of RTN #125, which originally aired on March 18, 2019. This version was completely reedited using Adobe’s Enhanced Speech software by Ben Sawyer.

The American Civil War and the end of slavery in the US may seem like one and the same from our modern perspective, but for those living through the conflict, the abolition of human bondage was anything but certain. Even into the last days of the war, slave traders in Confederate-held cities continued to auction off human beings, realizing handsome profits as they imposed violence and family separation on their subjects.

In his new book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South, Robert K.D. Colby brings together a wide variety of sources to offer up a never-before seen look into the slave trade during the American Civil War. In this episode, he joins Ben and guest co-host Tim Talbott to explain how the slave trade evolved, why slave traders remained confident in the future of slavery even during the Civil War, and how the combined trauma of slavery and war impacted enslaved Americans long after their freedom had been secured.

Robert K.D. Colby is Assistant Professor of History at Ole Miss who specializes in the Civil War and the history of slavery. His newest book, An Unholy Traffic was published by Oxford University Press in April 2024 and is available in both print and audiobook.

Tim Talbott is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust in Fredericksburg, Virginia and founding member and President of the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association. Tim holds a MA in Public History from Appalachian State University, where Ben had the great fortune to study alongside him.

Relevant Links:

·      The Smithsonian Digital Volunteers Transcription Center website

·      RTN Episode 270: Women & American Slavery w/ Stephanie E. Jones Rogers

·      RTN Episode 117: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism w/ Edward Baptist

This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

In 2002, Ashley Capps took a gamble- he rented hundreds of acres in rural Tennessee and put on a music festival. Coming on the heels of the infamous Lollapalooza ’99 and an unsuccessful festival at the same site two years earlier, few thought Ashley could pull it off. As you (and the 80,000 people who attended the festival this year) know, Ashley and his partners proved the doubters wrong and created one of the most iconic festivals in modern America.

Bob and Ben caught up with Ashley Capps back stage at Bonnaroo to talk about the history of the Bonnaroo Music Festival, how Ashley selected Manchester, TN, and the changes in the live music industry that have happened since he began working in live music decades ago. He also shares his insight on building the relationships that make a major festival sustainable. Bob also shares his experiences playing Bonnaroo with the Avett Brothers from the small stage in 2006 to the main stage in 2019.

This episode was recorded live at Bonnaroo on Friday, June 14, 2019 and originally aired as episode #133. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.