Stepping into the White House at the close of the Founding Fathers’ era, London-born Louisa Adams became the nation’s first foreign-born First Lady. In an age of prosperity shadowed by growing political strife, she turned personal tragedy into resilience, mastering the art of influence, forging powerful alliances, and leaving her mark on history as she helped shape John Quincy Adams’s path to the presidency. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck ...
Sep 29, 2025•35 min•Season 19Ep. 33
With every episode, Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett take you on a historical deep dive into the life of a woman society dismissed by calling her mad, sad, or just plain bad: Lindsay Lohan, Judy Garland, Winona Ryder, Mariah Carey, Lil Kim and many more. Join them for a rich, hilarious, and heartbreaking look into exactly what it means when we call a woman “crazy.” The C-Word was originally published behind a paywall from 2019 - 2022. This is the first time it’s being released to all major podcast...
Sep 25, 2025•3 min
Sharon delves into the fascinating yet often overlooked life of Elizabeth Monroe. As First Lady, her health struggles and preference for formality set her apart, leaving a unique legacy that redefined White House traditions. From her early days in a wealthy New York family to her daring act of saving the life of a well-known French aristocrat during the French Revolution, Elizabeth's story is one of quiet strength and resilience. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising P...
Sep 22, 2025•29 min•Season 19Ep. 32
It’s time to meet the woman who set the gold standard for the role of First Lady. With her natural charm and lively spirit, Dolley Madison hosted countless gatherings for Washington’s elite, turning social events into powerful political tools. Through the art of entertaining, she not only shaped the culture of the capital, but also advanced the influence and career of the nation’s fourth president, James Madison. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie ...
Sep 15, 2025•32 min•Season 19Ep. 31
Thomas Jefferson’s wife Martha died nearly twenty years before he took office, yet history still lists her as an official First Lady. Jefferson never remarried, but two very important women supported him through his years as a widower in ways few people know. Their stories were already intertwined long before Jefferson entered the picture, and their influence would leave a mark on the presidency itself. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks...
Sep 08, 2025•28 min•Season 19Ep. 30
Today, we’d call them the ultimate power couple. Abigail Adams, one of America’s most beloved First Ladies, sets sail across the Atlantic to join her husband, John, in the glittering city of Paris. But their story doesn’t end in Europe. Returning to Boston, the couple quickly steps onto a new stage together as President and First Lady of a young America. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more abou...
Sep 01, 2025•30 min•Season 19Ep. 29
Sharon takes us into the intertwined lives of the two women who shaped Aaron Burr. Their stories reveal brilliant minds, an unquenchable hunger for knowledge, the griefs of motherhood, and the weight of untimely tragedy. Sharon turns over the stones of their lives and explores a disappearance at sea, a mysteriously scavenged portrait, and a family secret. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more abo...
Aug 25, 2025•31 min•Season 19Ep. 28
Sharon explores the life of America’s first First Lady, Martha Washington, highlighting the many ways she shaped her family, the presidency, and the nation itself. Though the formal title of “First Lady” didn’t yet exist, she was affectionately known as “Lady Washington” and respected as George’s “worthy partner.” Sharon dives into many of lesser known details of her life like her first marriage, her open home policy, and her views on slavery. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon...
Aug 18, 2025•30 min•Season 19Ep. 27
Imagine being a Pulitzer Prize winning presidential historian, knowing you had extraordinarily rare primary source material and Presidential memorabilia tucked away in the cellar of your own home… and not opening it for decades? Doris Kearns Goodwin joins us today to share her journey of exploring more than 300 boxes, alongside her husband of 42 years, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, that served as a time capsule of his service in the 1960s. In the relay race of democracy, you never know who will pick u...
Aug 11, 2025•42 min•Season 19Ep. 26
In a time when division often makes the headlines, what truly binds us together? Sharon sits down with Yale constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar to explore why the U.S. Constitution remains a powerful force in bringing Americans together. Despite our different regions, backgrounds, cultures, and even languages, what we share is a constitutional framework and the historic events and documents that shaped our nation. Amar reflects on his own journey as a first‑generation American, from the...
Aug 04, 2025•34 min•Season 19Ep. 25
What would it take to update the Constitution and should we try? Sharon is joined by former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold to explore this question from his book, The Constitution in Jeopardy . Together, they unpack the tools the framers gave to evolve the founding document, including the never before used, and deeply controversial, Constitutional Convention. Could such a convention be a path to necessary reform, or a backdoor to dismantling democracy itself? Credits: Host and Executive Produce...
Jul 28, 2025•42 min•Season 19Ep. 24
With approval ratings of The Supreme Court at a historic low, what can Congress and the average American citizen do to hold the court accountable, and foster transparency? Sharon welcomes law professor Stephen Vladeck to nerd out about all things Supreme Court. Stephen dives into the elusive behind-the-scenes “shadow docket,” and how 99% of what the court does is in the shadows – without public hearings, and without explanation. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Pr...
Jul 21, 2025•37 min•Season 19Ep. 23
When we know a loved one is about to die, how can we best hold space for them in the in-between? Sharon is joined by Hadley Vlahos, RN, who has written a bestselling book, The In-Between , about her experiences working as a hospice nurse. Hadley walks us through the discomfort of death with great compassion and empathy while considering what it means to live well, and to die well. She also reflects on the mysterious, often unexplainable experiences shared across faiths and beliefs, encouraging u...
Jul 14, 2025•41 min•Season 19Ep. 23
We all know that poverty is an existing problem in the United States, but what does that really mean in a country with so much wealth? Sharon is joined by Matthew Desmond, Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the founding director of the Eviction Lab. Together, they discuss his best-selling book, Poverty, By America, and take a hard look at poverty in one of the richest countries in the world, while reimagining how we perceive poverty. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon M...
Jul 07, 2025•49 min•Season 19Ep. 22
American democracy is going through a rough patch, and the Constitution, for all its brilliance, has some flaws that limit the power of majorities. So why haven’t we made any real reforms in over 50 years? And what are other democracies doing to fight authoritarianism? Sharon sits down with Harvard government professors, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, to discuss their book, Tyranny of the Minority . They explore how past democracies have failed, and find the striking pattern that political ...
Jun 30, 2025•49 min•Season 19Ep. 21
Ever wonder how a white supremacist becomes an extremist? Sharon has a conversation with Matson and Tawni Browning about their book, The Hate Next Door. Matt gets candid about his time working undercover in white supremacist groups and what it was like to balance his dueling realities: where the job ended and where his home life began. Matt and Tawni also talk about the type of person white supremacist hate groups target for recruitment and the types of messaging they rely on to spread their vio...
Jun 23, 2025•46 min•Season 19Ep. 20
How does American society uphold the First Amendment while restricting books and censoring diverse ideas? Sharon talks with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, about the surge in book bans, now over 4,000 nationwide. Suzanne explains how vague language about “protecting children” is used to remove books that reflect marginalized voices, often labeling them as “indecent” without justification. The result is classic literature and health-related content being removed from the shelves. Credits: Hos...
Jun 16, 2025•37 min•Season 19Ep. 19
These days, it feels like every fleeting thought, mistake, or awkward phase can be captured and shared online. So how are kids supposed to grow up in a world like that? Sharon sits down with Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public , to talk about how parents, teachers, and mentors can support kids as they navigate the digital world, with plenty of empathy along the way. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig...
Jun 09, 2025•48 min•Season 19Ep. 18
All creatures, humans included, experience just a tiny slice of the full reality around us. Sharon chats with Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Ed Yong about his book An Immense World , which dives into the amazing and often unseen ways animals sense the world. Ed talks about how exploring these sensory worlds can lead to some pretty big, thought-provoking questions about life. Even if our own perception is limited, there’s so much we can discover when we stay curious a...
Jun 02, 2025•39 min•Season 19Ep. 17
This Memorial Day we take a moment to remember the 350,000+ American women who served in uniform during the war, in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. Their service ranged from critical support roles flying planes across the country, drawing maps to help men get through Normandy, codebreaking, and building & maintaining the behind-the-scenes infrastructural work that made the heroics possible. Sharon is j...
May 26, 2025•44 min•Season 19Ep. 16
We’ve heard it before: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what did the Founders mean by “the pursuit of happiness,” and how do virtue and moral philosophy shape our understanding of this unalienable right? Sharon is joined by Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, to explore these questions, as well as to dive deeper into the history and meaning of the pursuit of life-long virtue. Learn how six of the Framers and Founders – flaws and all – embody diff...
May 19, 2025•42 min•Season 19Ep. 15
Ever feel like choosing between the "lesser of two evils" in the voting booth? Many Americans don’t feel represented by major candidates and worry a third-party vote is wasted. If you're frustrated with the two-party system, you're not alone. What if it didn’t have to be that way? Sharon is joined by law professor and author Max Stearns, to hear about another option: a Parliamentary Democracy. What would this look like, and how might Americans benefit by reimagining Democracy? Credits: Host and ...
May 12, 2025•44 min•Season 19Ep. 14
Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. 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...
May 07, 2025•11 min
When did the political parties change sides? Is America a democracy, or a constitutional republic? Sharon welcomes back political historian, author, and Professor Heather Cox Richardson to discuss her book “Democracy Awakening.” Taking a different approach to this book from her previous work, Heather answers some of the big picture questions, once and for all, relating directly to America’s current standing as a democracy. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer...
May 05, 2025•41 min•Season 19Ep. 13
How can you tell if your news source is reliable? In this episode, Sharon talks with Vanessa Otero, founder of Ad Fontes Media and creator of the Media Bias Chart, about how to better evaluate the reliability of your news. They explore the difference between fact-based journalism and misinformation, and why so much of our news falls somewhere in the middle. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more a...
Apr 28, 2025•38 min•Season 19Ep. 12
You may not be familiar with their names, but William and Ellen Craft were a determined enslaved couple who made their escape through disguise and performance, and in their success, defied the limitations of gender and race. Sharon talks with Ilyon Woo, author of “Master Slave Husband Wife,” which beautifully depicts their epic journey from slavery to freedom. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn mor...
Apr 21, 2025•37 min•Season 19Ep. 11
We hear the word “reform” tossed around a lot when it comes to education, but what does it actually mean? And how does school segregation—both past and present—continue to shape our classrooms today? Sharon sits down with Dr. Bettina Love, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and author of “Punished for Dreaming.” From chronic underfunding and the overemphasis on standardized tests to teacher burnout and the devaluing of educators, it’s clear the system is struggling. So, where ...
Apr 14, 2025•55 min•Season 19Ep. 10
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 lived experiences and perceptions? Sharon speaks with presidential historian Alexis Coe, who talks about her goal as a historian to tell the whole story. Listen in to learn some f...
Apr 07, 2025•43 min•Season 19Ep. 9
We're excited to bring you a beautiful episode of The Moth, The Rest is History. In this hour, Henny Lewin, a young Jewish girl, is smuggled out of a Lithuanian ghetto during WWII, Musician Frank Almond makes a historic discovery, and Sivad Johnson takes us behind the scenes of the Detroit Fire Department. On Tuesdays and Fridays, The Moth’s podcast feed presents episodes of the Peabody-Award Winning Moth Radio Hour and original episodes of The Moth Podcast. Since its launch in 1997, The Moth ha...
Apr 03, 2025•54 min
Lady Bird, a whip-smart Southern woman, met Lyndon Johnson in Austin, Texas where he proposed to her at the end of their first date (she said no!). Eventually, the pair married and moved to Washington DC. Today, Sharon talks with author Julia Sweig about her newest book, Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight . The research and writing took Julia over six years, as she meticulously poured over the details of not only Lady Bird’s life, but also the 1960s era and the state of the nation at the t...
Mar 31, 2025•43 min•Season 19Ep. 8
