Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Professor Matthew Connelly gives us an overview of America’s history with classified information. What does it mean when information is classified? Who decides what information is kept from the public and what’s the process for classification and declassification? Most importantly, how does government accountability affect the future of our democracy? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our ...
Jan 02, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 3
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with legendary NPR Legal Affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg. Nina wrote a book–not just about her standing dinner dates with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but about the importance of friendships between women. Tune in to hear their conversation about connection, support, and thoughtfulness… and stay for the anecdotes about RBG’s goofy side! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. T...
Dec 30, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 2
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with presidential historian Alexis Coe, who talks about her goal as a historian to tell the whole story. We have a tendency to regard many of our U.S. Presidents as heroes, illuminating the ways in which they shaped our nation for the good, that we often gloss over their missteps. Historians piece together facts and details to fill in the gaps of the bigger picture, but how often are our interpretations colored by our own live...
Dec 28, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 1
On today’s special holiday episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’ll learn about how a few of our presidential families have influenced different types of events and customs during the December holiday season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 23, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we move Westward. While the politics in Washington D.C. were shaping events throughout the rest of the nation, the same can be said in reverse: what was happening in land far from the capital city influenced much of its politics. Join us today at the border of Mexico and Texas to learn about the tipped dominoes that led the U.S. into our first successful war fought on foreign soil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn mo...
Dec 21, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 14
On today’s episode, we’re going to move from political power player Sarah Polk to our next first lady: a total frontierswoman who was more comfortable roughing it in the wild with Army soldiers than throwing a society ball in Washington D.C. Come meet Margaret “Peggy” Taylor, and learn about her unusual life traveling to the most remote areas of the nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www....
Dec 19, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Today on here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re going to talk about a person who, by the mid-1800s, was shaping some of the biggest social reform movements to come out of the nation’s Antebellum era. A person who was born with no access and no rights. A person who was born into enslavement, fought his way to freedom, and then worked for a lifetime to ensure that access and equality was given to others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener dat...
Dec 16, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 12
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, you’ll learn five reasons why Sarah Polk is unique in the constellation of America’s First Ladies. Sarah Childress Polk was a political force because she was so good at seeming not to be. Men and women alike found her intelligent and ambitious, but not threatening. Stay tuned to hear how she used this skill to elevate herself and her husband to the highest positions in the nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 14, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Did you know that, in the late 1800s, Americans were drinking three times the amount of alcohol we consume today? On this episode of Here's Where It Gets Interesting, you'll get a crash course in the history of drinking in America. Learn why Whiskey became the most-consumed spirit, which Former president tried to smuggle in 500 bottles of French Wine without paying taxes on them, and how the Women's Christian Temperance Union chose to voice their support for Prohibition (there's some bar smashin...
Dec 12, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Welcome to today's episode of Here's Where It Gets Interesting where we'll talk about a president who had three women perform the official duties of the White House Hostess. John Tyler, often called the “Accidental President”, stepped in when William Henry Harrison died a month into his first term. While his incumbency wasn’t filled with many political gains, he did enter the White House with one wife… only to leave it four years later with a different wife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...
Dec 09, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 9
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, let’s take a brief look at the history of some past presidential deaths–how they happened and what happened after. How has the U.S. government responded to the death of our nation’s leaders? Some of the traditions may surprise you. Do you know which president’s death revolutionized the funeral and embalming industry? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: ...
Dec 07, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re going to talk about another First Lady who follows the pattern: married to the president, but never lived in the White House. This time, it was our first lady’s husband - the newly elected President William Henry Harrison - who died a month into his presidency, giving her no reason to leave her Ohio home and travel to Washington D.C. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy prac...
Dec 05, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 7
On this episode of Here's Where It Gets Interesting, we discuss someone whose defiance of social and moral convention irrevocably shaped the nation’s political stage during the Antebellum years. In the 1800s, the role of Victorian women–especially the wealthy wives of prominent political figures–was to serve as protectors of our nation’s values. Those values centered around the home and church: wives were dutiful, modest, faithful, and charitable. But there are always rule-breakers, aren’t there...
Dec 02, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, we’ll continue to talk about some key players of the Jacksonian Era - and, before we get to this infamous scandal in Washington that I’ve been teasing you about, we need to learn about another one of our first ladies who never made it to the White House. Our next President’s wife actually passed away almost two decades before she would have been First Lady. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data an...
Nov 30, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, we're going to dive in and take a look at some of the actions and eccentricities of the Andrew Jackson presidency. You may think we’ve talked about all of Andrew Jackson’s quirks by now, but NO! We haven’t even scratched the surface. So join us today, and we’ll talk about cheese, the National Debt, and the time Jackson had to climb out a back window of the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about list...
Nov 28, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 4
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re going to talk about a First Lady who never got the opportunity to step foot inside the White House. However, her life had an undeniably major impact on her husband’s two-term presidency. I know we love to hate him, but during this episode, we’re going to discuss the lifelong–and at times scandalous–love and devotion between President Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To lear...
Nov 25, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Happy Thanksgiving, friends! On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we take a look at some of the more unusual November holiday White House happenings–from Coolidge’s Thanksgiving Raccoon to Mamie Eisenhower’s hand in the Great Cranberry Crisis of 1959. And if you’re sitting down to share a meal with family and friends this week, don’t forget to give a nod to the woman who made it all possible: Sarah Josepha Hale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To l...
Nov 23, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we return to the White House to talk about one of a much-requested topic: our nation’s First Ladies. By the time today’s First Lady entered the White House, the era of the Founding Fathers had come to an end and the country’s economy was prospering. But politics was another story and becoming more divisive by the day. Join us as we talk about the first non-American born First Lady who accompanied her husband to the White House after a hard-won...
Nov 21, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 1
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon interviews one of our most-requested guests. Listeners regularly write in and ask to hear a conversation between Sharon and political history expert Heather Cox Richardson. That day is today! Heather Cox Richardson shares how she believes the way we use language shapes how we see our political views, allies, and enemies. Together, Sharon and Heather also touch on the ways that our future may change our past. Tune in to understand wha...
Nov 18, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 9
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with author Cynthia Covey Haller. Cynthia shares the mantra that her late father, Steven R. Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, aspired to during the last decade of his life, and that was to live life in crescendo. Cynthia expands on this concept, defining it as living life with the goal to keep learning, expanding, and growing with the knowledge that your most important work is always ahead of you. Host...
Nov 16, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, National Geographic wildlife photographer Ami Vitale sits down with Sharon to talk about her adventures around the world. Ami is dedicated to spending time with people, places, and animals and sharing their authentic and intimate stories through her camera lens. She speaks about her passion for creativity and environmental conservation efforts, and the idea that an individual may not have the power to change the world, but a great many people taking pat...
Nov 14, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 7
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with Whole30 CEO Melissa Urban. But Melissa isn’t here to talk only about food. Instead, the duo tackles the important topic of boundaries and our tendency to struggle with saying one very important word: no. Melissa’s green, yellow, and red light framework for boundaries provides an easy guide to both sharing our boundaries with others and easing our anxiety and dread during difficult conversations. This episode is a must-listen...
Nov 11, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Joining Sharon on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting today is author Anand Giridharadas. Anand’s new book, The Persuaders, documents how people persuade others to change their minds and take action. Learn from Anand about how to move from a defeatist attitude of writing one another off. Changing our perspective about “lost causes” may be the exact thing we need to find true connection and repair our fractured relationships and communities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
Nov 09, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Listen to Adam Grant's Re:Thinking Podcast interview with Sharon about how we can rethink the qualifications for elected office, who decides to run, and what information voters should weigh. They also address ways to sharpen critical thinking and ponder how to improve Congress with a few thought experiments–including a total takeover of the House and Senate by none other than America’s government teachers. Hear more episodes of Re:Thinking on the TED Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...
Nov 08, 2022•49 min
Joining Sharon on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting today is author Kate Summerscale. She recently wrote The Book of Phobias & Manias, which highlights the history of our fears and obsessions. How come so many of us find dolls and clowns unnerving? Why do we react with a shriek when we see a mouse skitter across the kitchen floor? And what super famous American entrepreneur suffered from koumpounophobia... the fear of buttons? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To le...
Nov 07, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 4
On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon shares a conversation with former presidential speechwriter Troy Senik. Troy is now the cofounder of Kite & Key Media and author of the new book, A Man Of Iron, which is a sweeping biography of a nonconsecutive two-term President whose time in public service often flies under the radar. Can you guess who Troy will be talking about today? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data a...
Nov 04, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 3
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, author and podcast host Kate Dawson returns! Kate’s new book, All That Is Wicked transports readers to the Gilded Age–a time when money and prestige made it easy to get away with murder. Or almost, in the sensational case of Edward Rulloff. Kate and Sharon talk about the process of researching and telling true stories and how they shaped history. Rulloff’s case forever changed the way we research the criminal mind. Hosted on Acast. See acas...
Nov 02, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 2
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with US Senate candidate Evan McMullin from Utah, who is running as an independent without special interest group donations. Together they discuss the two-party system, campaign reform, and the danger of partisan extremism. They also talk candidly about Evan’s background as a CIA officer and how it prepared him for a career change into public office. Evan is running with the goal to build a cross-party coalition of Democrats, ...
Oct 31, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We asked you to write or call in with your lingering questions about Japanese incarceration, so today, on Resilience, Sharon answers your questions. Join us to hear more about what happened to Japanese Americans in Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, what happened to the assets of the incarcerated, and where you can find more resources, like oral histories, photos, and video compilations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our...
Oct 28, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon continues her conversation with actor George Takei about his childhood experiences with forced removal and incarcerated camp life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 26, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 14
