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An American History Podcast hosted by Frank Cogliano and David Silkenat
Episodes
Monday Aug 27, 2018
Monday Aug 27, 2018
With lots going on in the the last couple of weeks, Frank and David tackle a hodge podge of news needing historical context, including:
- The removal of Silent Sam at UNC Chapel Hill
- The conviction of Paul Manafort, the guilty plea of Michael Cohen, and what that means for President Trump
- The legacy of Senator John McCain
Last Drops
Friday Aug 10, 2018
Friday Aug 10, 2018
Frank and David look at the history of lawyers in American politics, including:
- Why so many politicians from the Revolution onward had legal backgrounds
- How the legal profession has changed over time
- How the Reagan Revolution and the Federalist Society changed the legal profession and politics
Last Drops
Frank: Season 2 of Slow Burn
Davd: A12 podcast
Thursday Jul 26, 2018
Thursday Jul 26, 2018
Recent headlines that former Trump advisor Carter Page and graduate student Maria Butina have illegally acted as Russian foreign agents have put the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act in the spotlight. Frank and David talk about foreign agents in American history, including:
- How a foreign agent differs from a diplomat and a spy
- How Citizen Genet tried to get Americans to suppor the French Revolution
- How German agents tried to keep Americans out of World War I and II, including inflitrating America First
Last Drops
Wednesday Jul 18, 2018
Wednesday Jul 18, 2018
President Donald Trump just returned from a week-long European trip, including a contentious NATO summit, tense meetings with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and a bizarre press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Frank and David try to make sense of this trip and place it into some historical context.
Shout outs to listeners Jasmin and Simon.
Last Drops
Frank: #HATM
David: www.womenalsoknowhistory.com
Friday Jun 22, 2018
Friday Jun 22, 2018
Live from the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Frank and David explore the role of paranoia, conspiracy, and politics in American film, including:
- Why this genre became popular after Watergate
- How the genre has evolved since Reagan
- Why these films seem particularly relevant in the age of Trump
Plus Q&A with the audience!
Friday Jun 08, 2018
Friday Jun 08, 2018
Horrifying accounts of immigrant children separated from their parents have dominated the news over the past several weeks. Frank and David look at the history of child separation, including:
- How slavery frequently separated parents from children and how black families sought to find lost family members after emancipation
- How Native American boarding schools created a kind of cultural genocide in removing Indian children from their families and communities
- How the orphan train relocated poor children from New York to rural communities
Last Drops
Frank: Trump on Canadians, the War of 1812, and the burning of the White House
David: Pittsburgh highlights: Wigle Distillery and Heinz History Center
Tuesday May 29, 2018
Tuesday May 29, 2018
In our series of historians go the movies, Frank and David discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including:
- Why Marvel movies have done so well recently, while DC's have missed the mark
- How the Civil Rights era provides an important context for many Marvel characters' origins
- Predictions post-Infinity War
Last Drops
Frank: Slate's Upon Further Review podcast
David: Lou Ferrigno on Mr. Rogers
Monday May 21, 2018
Monday May 21, 2018
Last Saturday, millions of people around the world (including many Americans) watched the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Frank and David discuss why Americans seem so enamoured with British royality, including:
- How Americans during the Revolutionary era thought about monarchy
- How Americans responded to a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1860
- Why Frank has been boycotting Royal weddings since 1982
Last Drops
David: Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg
Frank: Thomas Mullen's Darktown
Monday May 14, 2018
Monday May 14, 2018
In less than a year and a half, President Trump has radically reoriented American foreign policy, including: exiting the Iran deal, opening up negotiation with North Korea, backing out of the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and imposing steel tariffs. Frank and David try to put this shift into context, including:
- How Jefferson, Polk, and Carter changed the US foreign policy stance after taking office
- Why most presidents tend to maintain the status quo with regards to foreign policy
- What Trump's posture means for the future of foreign relations
Last Drops
Thursday May 03, 2018
Thursday May 03, 2018
Recent comments by historians Joseph Ellis and Gordon Wood has prompted a contentuous debate about how academic historians engage with the public. Frank and David discuss, including:
- Whether academic historians used to write better/more accessibly than they do now
- Why some kinds of historical writing tend to generate a larger popular audience
- Whether academic historians don't celebrate patriotic narratives enough
- How academic historians can and should engage with the public in 2018
Plus! David addresses feedback on our last episode from a loyal listener in Edinburgh.
Last Drops
David: John Dickerson's article on the presidency in the Atlantic