My History Can Beat Up Your Politics - podcast cover

My History Can Beat Up Your Politics

Since 2006, this podcast has been using history to elevate today's political debates.  "The perfect antidote to bloviating talking heads, My History is thoughtful, nuanced, and highly engaging." -Columbia Journalism Review

Episodes

KENT STATE 1970: AFTER THE SHOOTINGS

In this episode, we talk about everything that happens after that moment when four students were killed at a protest at a college (only two were participating in the protest). Opinion wasn't universally with the slain students, the school had little interest in memorializing and the criminal justice system focused not at those who killed students but at the students themselves. We talk to Howard Ruffner, author of "Moments of Truth" and an eyewitness to the events. Learn more about your ad choic...

Apr 28, 20251 hr 6 min

SO THESE FIVE GUYS WALK INTO A HOTEL: THE PLAZA ACCORD

In 1985, a new Treasury Secretary had a shocking idea. Get the financial leaders of the world large economies in one gilded hotel room and don't tell the press, or the markets, until the deal is done. The Plaza Accords, as they were dubbed, has come up again in today's tariff discussions. At least one administration official would say it's what's needed today. We get into it, and why it didn't have a long term effect. But it's also true to say this - nothing worked like Plaza before or since. Le...

Apr 25, 202549 min

Lexington and Concord: What You May Not Know

You know about the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the shot heard around the world, the minutemen and their trifold hats and muskets. But how much do you really know about the day's events? This episode we look at the day of fighting at Concord, when a British raiding party turned into a display of American resistance and a trial run for American independence. We look at the stories from that day, and deal with some misconceptions and discuss the impact of the American origin story. Learn more...

Apr 21, 202539 min

Listen Now — Fiasco: Iran-Contra

If you like My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, you’ll enjoy the new season of Fiasco, a podcast from Slow Burn creator Leon Neyfakh. Leon transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of the United States’ most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present. In his new season, Iran-Contra, Leon looks at a secret war, a secret deal, and a scandal that threatened to destroy Ronald Reagan’s presidency—until it didn’t....

Apr 14, 202544 min

LINCOLN'S LAND IN IOWA - Now on Patreon

Lincoln owned land in Iowa, but didn't get a chance to see it. It did remain in the family for a while. We talk about it, what happened to it, and the area around Tama county where one of his lots was. It's part of the bonus content on the Patreon. Subscribe to the Patreon for as little as $5 dollars a month and get ad-free episodes, and bonus episodes: For instance - we talk about Lincoln's land he owned in Iowa while he was President, and What happened to it, plus a half-dozen other Lincoln st...

Apr 11, 20255 min

GROVER CLEVELANDS THREE WARNINGS ABOUT TARIFFS

The 22nd and 24th President staked his first re-election bid opposing tariffs. There were reasons. He felt they increased prices on all goods, including non-imports, he thought they were limited in benefit to working people, and he had a third warning that is not as prominent in debates today. We discuss his 1887 Tariff Message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 202522 min

SMOOT: THE MAN BEHIND THE SMOOT-HAWLEY TARIFF

You may know his tariff, but not him. A look at the man behind the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. Reed Smoot, Senator from Utah. His history, his politics, his views on tariffs. His battles for a mix of conservative issues and progressive stands. And his battle to keep his own seat from religious intolerance. Plus a discussion on tariffs in history and the variety of different historical figures who have positive and negative views of tariffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 03, 202553 min

NOW ON THE PATREON: CHESTER ARTHUR, PART THREE - "I WILL ACCEPT!"

That's right - sign up for Patreon for our most recent episode about the 21st President, Chester Alan Arthur. In this episode, the establishment takes on the establishment, but just a little. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 25, 20253 min

FEDERAL JUDGES AND PRESIDENTS

Federal judges and Presidents have clashed in the past. It's rarely been cheery. As executive power exists only within the frame of law, this should be expected. There are freak events where Presidents have ignored judicial orders, but it is not the routine. We get into it, including a case of a man on a horse following U.S. soldiers, a tribe's removal, a prosecutor prosecuted, a case where the Supreme Court confirmed you must listen to the Supreme Court, and a man who kept showing up to work af...

Mar 25, 20251 hr 12 min

CANNABIS AND SAMUEL J. TILDEN

Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but lost the Presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes in the disputed electoral college. That is is his footnote in history. He's also known for taking down Boss Tweed. Though his actual role is disputed by people at the time. What's less known about him is the source of the family money. His family sold patent medicines. Frankly it was cannabis, and at a strength of about 10 times todays routine variety. We link politics, corruption, reform and strong medicine all to...

Mar 18, 202547 min

ASHAMED IN THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT - Resistance to Jackson Indian Removal Policy in its Time

Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren's policy of Indian population removal, which lead to the Trail of Tears and thousands of deaths, was not uncontested or passively allowed at the time. Nearly half of Congress opposed it, as did petition writers all over the nation. So did one of the President's former friends and of course, most of the elected representatives of the Cherokee people. These debates happened not in modern times but then. One of Jackson's friends voted against so he would not be A...

Mar 06, 202549 min

Now on The Patreon - Chester Arthur, Part 2- Stalwarts!

What does it mean to be a Stalwart? In history, it's just a name for political machine pros seeking jobs and being corrupt. But it was more. While telling how Chester Arthur became the nation's most famous fired civil servant, we explain politics in the 19th century. The real battles then were inside the party. On our Patreon now, [www.patreon.com/mhcbuyp] as part of a 4 part series, we discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 05, 20252 min

"REGO" - AL GORE'S REINVENTING GOVERNMENT 1993

It was clunky, and a little Office Space-like. And it cut federal jobs. But then-Vice President Al Gore's "REGO" program was different in many ways from "DOGE" -The 1993 program was bipartisan, considered [cuts were identified, then made, in that order. And it was slow, and generated little protest. It did generate tension in the Clinton White House, which we get into. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 05, 202529 min

THE WORLD iS CHANGING, BUT HISTORY IS STILL USEFUL -DON'T THROW OUT THE BOOKS YET

Bruce is on a tear being told that given the norm-breaking going on there is no place for history. Nothing can be farther from the truth. He outlines why, instead of history not being useful, it's actually quick history (comparing say Trump to Obama) that is still interesting, but maybe won't lock down the kind of results you want. But in the long swath of American political history, current events compare and contrast well to all sorts of things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Feb 25, 202536 min

PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANTS AND AIDES "Separated By a Swinging Door"

From the man who answered T.R.'s phone and maybe saved his life, to the secret "Sphinx" around Woodrow Wilson, to Coolidge's surprise enforcer. We look at all sorts of Presidential assistants and aides, both official ones and non-official ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 17, 20251 hr 46 min

D.C. REPRESENTATION: A Love Story

This episode is all about voting in the federal capital we now call the District of Columbia. We talk about a movement to get voting rights that succeeded for a group of (then) D.C. residents 180 years ago, And about the petitions, committees, tea parties, bus trips and statements by Presidents over the years, and the reactions of Congress to them. Why Lincoln and Jefferson Davis found common ground on one issue about D.C. and neither got their wish. And about the rioting soldiers that may have ...

Feb 16, 20251 hr 16 min

Now on the Patreon: Franklin Roosevelt Takes on Jimmy Walker

Now on the Patreon: Franklin Roosevelt Takes on Jimmy Walker In the sweltering summer of 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt found himself ensnared in a political web spun by the most notorious machine in New York politics—Tammany Hall. As governor of New York, Roosevelt was well aware of the rampant corruption within the city’s government, but his position as the Democratic nominee for president made any decisive action perilous. Removing New York City’s charismatic, scandal-plagued mayor, Jimmy Wa...

Feb 14, 20254 min

Show Update 2/9/2025

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Feb 09, 20252 min

AN "INDUSTRIAL SELMA" AND OTHER STORIES - FINAL OF THE ARK OF COMMERCE SERIES

The idea of saving manufacturing jobs is front-and-center in American politics today. Examining the history of plant closings and job losses In the 70's and 80's provides an interesting contrast. "We ought to make stuff here, or we should try to keep this plant open." were radical stances, confined to political fringes, and usually left. In once case, a group of workers, residents and church leaders in a town try for what is called an Industrial Selma - a radical plan to reopen a plant led by an...

Feb 06, 20251 hr 33 min

MAKE IT STOP (Stopping Commerce with Embargoes, Takeovers and Other Methods)- THE ARK OF COMMERCE

In our series on American commerce, a look at three instances of when U.S. commerce was stopped, for a variety of reasons. The embargo of 1807 is an important part of the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, not often examined in detailed compared to other events. It brought serious economic problems, but was held up by Jefferson as an experiment by a peaceful power. We also examine his Treasury Secretary Gallatin, who had to implement the plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

Feb 03, 20251 hr 18 min

NIXON AND IMPOUNDMENT, NOT SPENDING FUNDS, CONGRESS AND COURTS

In the 1970's a President, seeking to reduce inflation, tried a new tactic. Simply not spending the money that congress appropriated. OK, it wasn't entirely new, but it had been used in defense spending after the war where demand was needed or in very small amounts. This was billions of collars. As we discuss impoundment could be considered unfair - because a President could technically pass nice sounding bills and then later, kill the funding, thus getting credit for the good image of legislati...

Jan 29, 202525 min

WONG KIM ARK, BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, THE CHARMING BETSEY AND THE SAND LOT PROTESTS

When it comes to citizenship decided by birth, the story of Wong Kim Ark, a young man born in the US of Chinese descent who was denied entry to his country, should be on a few minds. We tell that story in this episode, along with the Sand Lot protests that led to his change in status, and the 1804 about a ship that helped reinforce their thinking. This and thoughts about early Trump Presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 29, 202544 min

MEASURE EVERYTHING: THE ARK OF COMMERCE

An unknown man in a forgotten office develops a number that makes and breaks Presidents. A poet turns his song away from beautiful pastures and towards a metal object. Two 19th century men tire themselves out making machines. They can't know their work will one day put us on the Moon And a man tries to invent an un-commerce, but may have built the 21st century economy instead. In the fifth episode of our series on American commerce, we look at the appraisal and measuring and counting of business...

Jan 20, 20251 hr 29 min

DOLLARS IN THE AIR - THE ARK OF COMMERCE

Air commerce is covered in this episode. Not only vehicles that imitate naval travel in the skies, which seemed to be the future of travel. But also, putting waves into the air and changing the air's temperature. Plus, building large buildings that touch the sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 10, 20251 hr 13 min

SHOPPING WITH MRS. LINCOLN - THE ARK OF COMMERCE

The history of American retail, from Mrs. Lincoln's shopping trips and the innovator who accommodated her, to the price salvationists and tea servers, and finally the Socialist concept that gets the shopping mall going, and the possible death of the shopping mall. Plus the movies, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 06, 20251 hr 11 min

LOCO: ARK OF COMMERCE SERIES - A HISTORY OF LAND COMMERCE

A mysterious crash. A strange contraption. A fateful race, an outbreak of violent activity and a crafty watch-seller. A look at the railroad history of America and the changes the railroad brought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 03, 20251 hr 45 min

JIMMY CARTER EPHEMERA

Random, yet relevant stories about Jimmy Carter as a candidate, a governor and President Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 29, 202448 min
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