The Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion 014: Why Historians Didn't Predict Trump Edition

1. In a New York Times Magazine article, historian Rick Perlstein tries to explain why historians of American conservatism couldn't foresee Donald Trump's election

2. The recent violent removal of a United passenger prompted lots of anger at the airline. Frank and David discuss if we should also think about this as an example of police violence and about the historical relationship between capitalism and police power. (Thanks, Craig, for the idea.)

Last Drops

Frank: 5th season of House of Cards

David: Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Whiskey Rebellion 013: The Trump Doctrine

Live from the Cameo Bar:

1. Trump's missile strike on Syria marks a departure from his campaign rhetoric. Frank and David discuss why politicans run on keeping us out of war, then change their minds once in office.

2. War Powers. The President is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but Congress has the power to declare war. David and Frank talk about this political tension. 

 

Last Drops

Frank: the problems with the remake of the Magnificent Seven

David: New York Times and Wall Street Journal articles on new Museum of the American Revolution. History majors on the rise at Yale.

Whiskey Rebellion 012: The Death of the Senate and Nepotism

1. The Death of the Senate: Senate Republicans recently changed the rules to prohibit filibusters for Supreme Court nominees -- the so-called nuclear option -- paving the way for Neil Gorsuch's confirmation. Frank and David explore the origins of the filibuster and how the Senate has changed over the past two centuries.

2. Nepotism: President Trump has recently appointed his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner to key roles in the White House. Frank and David debate the role that nepotism has played in American history and the extent to which Trump's use of close family members is unprecedented.

Last Drops

Frank: Tartan Day 

David: Charles Ball's Slavery in the United States and the NEH funded digitization of fugitive slave narratives

Whiskey Rebellion 011: Originalism, Trump's 100 Days, and Brexit

David's manning the fort in Edinburgh; Frank phoning it in from Palo Alto

1. Originalism: Neil Gorsuch's nomination hearings have brought "originalism" back into the news. We debate the origins and merits of this judicial philosophy.

2. Trump's 100 Days: As President Trump approaches 100 days in office, we examine the history of this milestone and how Trump compares to his predececessors.

3. Brexit: UK PM Theresa May just triggered Article 50, beginning the process of Britain leaving the European Union. As American historians living in Scotland, Frank and David offer some perspective.

 

Last Drops

Frank: Victorian novels, particularly the works of Anthony Trollope, as a welcome escape from the present

David: Twitter hastag #ThanksForTyping, highlighting the unpaid and uncredited academic labor done by historians' wives.

 

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Please leave a review on iTunes! We're giving away signed copies of Frank and David's most recent books to two lucky reviewers. 

Whiskey Rebellion 010: Most Dangerous Myths in American History and When Did Democracy Cease to be a Bad Word?

1. Frank and David debate the most dangerous myths in American History.

2. Listener Question: When did Americans start to call themselves a democracy?

Last Drops

Frank: Greg Smithers article in the Atlantic on the myth of Pocohontas

David: Our listeners in North Dakota

Whiskey Rebellion 009: Corruption, the Arts, the Listener Mailbag

1. Has American government ever been so corrupt? Frank and David discuss draining the swamp, why the Founders were obsessed with corruption, and George Washington Plunkett's distinction between honest and dishonest graft.

2. Government and the Arts. Trump's recent budget proposal includes scrapping the NEH and NEA. Frank and David discuss the history of government support for the arts, including the construction of public buildings and funding for arts programs during the Great Depression.

3. Listener Mailbag: Listener Katie asks if there is anything to be optimistic about. 

Last Drops

Frank: New York Times article debunking the myth of Irish slaves

David: The US Consulate in Edinburgh 

Whiskey Rebellion 008: Trump vs. Nixon, Impeachment, and Ben Carson's History Lesson

Frank's in Burbank, while David holds down the fort in Edinburgh:

1. Trump vs. Nixon: As a follow-up to last week's discussion of Trump and Andrew Jackson, we look at the comparisons between Trump and Richard Nixon.

2. Impeachment: Frank and David discuss the mechanics of impeachment and the preconditions that make impeachment possible

3. Ben Carson and Betsy DeVos's History Lesson: In a recent article in the New Yorker, Jelani Cobb dissects controversal recent statements by HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about African American History.

 

Last Drops

Frank: Digitization of the Henrietta Liston Papers at the National Library of Scotland

David: Scottish Association for the Study of America conference last week in Edinburgh. Particular thanks to Catherine Bateson and Krysten Blackstone

Whiskey Rebellion 007: Trump's Address to Congress, America's Greatest Problem, and Trump vs. Jackson

This week's topics:

1. Trump's Address to Congress: Did he "pivot"? How was this address different from other presidential speeches to Congress?

2. A recent New York Times article examines how Americans have responded to the Gallup poll question: "What do you think is the most important problem facing the country?" Frank and David discuss what this data reveals and what it obscures.

3. Is Donald Trump Andrew Jackson? In a recent article in The American Historian, Mark Cheatham argues that this frequently made comparsion doesn't have a lot of value. 

Last Drops

Frank

• David's new book Driven from Home: North Carolina's Civil War Refugee Crisis won the North Caroliniana Society's award for the best non-fiction published in 2016. He is the first person to win this award twice (his first book, Moments of Despair: Suicide, Divorce, and Debt in Civil War Era North Carolina, won for 2011.)
• Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln, which Frank re-watched on the plane

David

• Historian Joanne Freeman's twitter feed (@jbf1755)
• Historian Annette Gordon-Reed's twitter feed (@agordonreed)

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Whiskey Rebellion 006: Presidents' Day Edition

Back in Doctors in a stormy day in Edinburgh to discuss:

1. Presidential Ranking: C-Span just released their 2017 Presidential ranking survery results. Frank and David explore the history of these polls, whether Lincoln deserves to always win, and who are favorite and least favorite presidents are.

2. Presidents and the Media. In his recent Florida rally, President Trump claimed that his war with the media was similiar to conflicts that Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln had with the press. Frank reveals that TJ's relationship with the media was far more complicated that either Trump or his critics suggest.

Last Drops

David: Tag sale at the home of historian John Hope Franklin

Frank: NPR story on Aluetian internment during WWII and his annual rant about ex-pats paying taxes.

Whisky of the week: Talisker 10

 

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Please leave reviews on iTunes. Frank and David will be giving away copies of their most recent books to randomly selected reviewers.

Whiskey Rebellion 005: Treason and Leaks!

Live (sorta) from Doctor's Pub in Edinburgh, Frank and David discuss:

1. The resignation/firing of Mike Flynn, the Logan Act, and Treason.

2. Leaks! Leaks! and more Leaks! Is the Trump WH the leakiest in history? How does it compare to Nixon, Adams, or (gasp!) Polk?

Last Drops

Frank: John LeCarre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

David: Catherine Clinton's Southern Historical Association Presidental Address, "The Southern Social Circle." Now published in the Journal of Southern History

 

This week's whisky: Highland Park 12

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