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This American President

History Podcasts

We’ve had 45 presidents and each one represents a unique chapter in our country’s history. Those chapters are filled with triumphs and tragedies, successes and failures. Some of our presidents were brilliant and others were just plain bizarre. But they all have a story to tell and helped to shape the country we have today. In every episode of This American President, we will try to tell one of those stories. Find all of our episodes at thisamericanpresident.com and follow us on Twitter @ThisAmerPres.

We’ve had 45 presidents and each one represents a unique chapter in our country’s history. Those chapters are filled with triumphs and tragedies, successes and failures. Some of our presidents were brilliant and others were just plain bizarre. But they all have a story to tell and helped to shape the country we have today. In every episode of This American President, we will try to tell one of those stories. Find all of our episodes at thisamericanpresident.com and follow us on Twitter @ThisAmerPres.

Location:

United States

Description:

We’ve had 45 presidents and each one represents a unique chapter in our country’s history. Those chapters are filled with triumphs and tragedies, successes and failures. Some of our presidents were brilliant and others were just plain bizarre. But they all have a story to tell and helped to shape the country we have today. In every episode of This American President, we will try to tell one of those stories. Find all of our episodes at thisamericanpresident.com and follow us on Twitter @ThisAmerPres.

Language:

English

Contact:

4043686606

Episodes

State of the Podcast + Kickstarter Project

2/3/2020
Richard and Michael answer questions from listeners including the origin story of the podcast and what goes into making an episode. They also announce a Kickstarter Project to fund a podcast studio. To become a...

Duration:00:33:17

Ep. 19: The Power of the Universe Part I (Harry S. Truman)

10/23/2019
How did a haberdasher from Missouri end up changing the world? Upon FDR’s death, Harry Truman was thrust into the presidency in the middle of WWII. Soon he would face the hard decision of how...

Duration:01:13:04

Ep. 18: Perspectives: Nigel Hamilton on FDR

9/28/2019
Interview with Nigel Hamilton regarding his new FDR book, War and Peace: FDR’s Final Odyssey: D-Day to Yalta, 1943–1945.

Duration:01:10:41

Ep. 17: Apollo 11 Splashdown with Navy Frogman John Wolfram

7/18/2019
When John Wolfram joined the US Navy in 1967, he didn’t imagine he would become the first frogman in the water to rescue the Apollo 11 astronauts after the moon landing. John tells us about...

Duration:00:42:39

Ep. 16: A Gulf of Civil Horror (George Washington)

6/15/2019
For over 200 years, the US military has subordinated itself to civilian authority. But in 1783, that authority was challenged. This is the story of how George Washington restored that civilian rule and saved the...

Duration:01:39:08

Ep. 15: Presidential Fight Club with Scott Rank

5/8/2019
Scott Rank visits to discuss his podcast Presidential Fight Club, which seeks to answer the question “If all of the presidents fought each other one-on-one, who would win?” Scott Michael Rank, Ph.D., is the editor...

Duration:00:57:23

Ep. 14: Perspectives: Gen. Michael Hayden, Director of the NSA and CIA under George W. Bush

3/30/2019
Interview with General Michael Hayden, former Director of the NSA and CIA, on the dilemmas the Bush Administration faced in the War on Terror.

Duration:01:07:41

Ep. 13: Will and Ted’s Imperial Adventure Part II (William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt)

2/10/2019
The Spanish-American War is at hand and America faces even more temptations towards imperialism in the Philippine-American War.

Duration:01:57:41

Ep. 12: Will and Ted’s Imperial Adventure Part I (William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt)

10/17/2018
Should republics build empires? William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and the path to the Spanish–American War.

Duration:01:22:34

Ep. 11: The Great American Conqueror Part II (James K. Polk)

6/11/2018
In our last episode, we discussed President Polk’s unlikely rise to the White House and his success in annexing Texas and settling the Oregon territory. But by late April 1846, he was leading his nation...

Duration:01:04:24

Ep. 10: The Great American Conqueror Part I (James K. Polk)

3/21/2018
In this episode we continue the theme of expansion in early America, telling the story of the Mexican-American War and the president who, though largely forgotten and little understood, remains a giant in the annals...

Duration:01:18:50

Ep. 9: The Art of the Steal (Thomas Jefferson)

12/5/2017
History often seems inevitable. When we look back at a historical event, we usually look at it with the outcomes or the results in mind. For example, when we think of World War II, we...

Duration:01:41:55

Ep. 8: The Women Who Would Be President

9/26/2017
We just lived through the first election in which a woman won the nomination of a major political party to be President of the United States and came close to being elected. To many, this...

Duration:02:04:41

Ep. 7: Perspectives: Bob Knudsen on Photographing the President

8/15/2017
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was a little-known politician running for president. In February of that year, he was in New York City to deliver a speech at the Cooper Union building. Just before his remarks,...

Duration:01:13:45

Ep. 6: The Inscrutable Man Part II (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

7/19/2017
In the first episode of this two-part series on FDR, we explored the man, his times, and the unusual circumstances surrounding the 1944 Democratic Convention. We discussed FDR’s legendary poker face, his deteriorating health, the...

Duration:01:04:36

Ep. 5: The Inscrutable Man Part I (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

6/27/2017
If we were to do an episode on the entire life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it would have to be at least a 12 hour series. Instead, we will focus on a short period of...

Duration:01:16:29

Ep. 4: Perspectives: Peggy Grande on President Reagan

6/6/2017
This week on This American President we interview author, public speaker, and former executive assistant to President Ronald Reagan, Peggy Grande. Peggy recently wrote a book titled The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons...

Duration:01:41:51

Ep. 3: Fake News and Nasty Men (1876 Election)

5/16/2017
Historians have often noted that our Founding Fathers didn’t like democracy. Our second president, John Adams, once said, “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet...

Duration:01:22:28

Ep. 2: Smile of the Demagogue (Andrew Johnson)

4/25/2017
He came from humble beginnings. He was born in a log cabin and had virtually no education. Through hard work, he rose to become a successful businessman. He fell in love and was married for...

Duration:02:25:29

Ep. 1: The First American Action Hero (George Washington)

4/4/2017
We all know that George Washington was our first president, that he “could not tell a lie,” and that he supposedly had wooden teeth (he didn’t). However, to us, he seems to be a distant...

Duration:00:57:49