Podcast Episodes

US Diplomacy and the End of the Cold War w/ Jack Matlock

For half a century, the US-Soviet rivalry pitted the two most powerful nations in human history against one another other in a conflict that had the potential to end civilization. The fact that the C…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Robert Hanssen: The FBI’s Most Damaging Spy w/ Major Garrett

FBI agent Robert Hanssen was one of the most damaging spies in US history. From 1979 to 2001, Hanssen delivered some of the United States governments’ most sensitive secrets to Soviet and Russian age…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny w/ Jeff Bieber

Episode 342

Hannah Arendt witnessed the rise of Nazism in Germany and her groundbreaking works, including The Origins of Totalitarianism, sought to understand how regular people could be seduced by horrendous id…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Native Nations w/ Kathleen DuVal

Episode 341

Kathleen DuVal joins Ben & Bob for a discussion of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Native Nations: A Millennium in North America (Random House, 2024) and how understanding North American history fro…

Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago

How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Trump w/ Molly Worthen

Episode 340

Bob speaks with UNC-Chapel Hill historian Molly Worthen about her new book Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Trump.

Gary Fletcher edited this episode.

Published on 3 months ago

The Ballad of Marion Zioncheck (Live in DC part 2)

Episode 339

Ben tells the story of Marion Zioncheck, inventor of the Zioncheck Zipper* and the only sitting member of congress to escape from an insane asylum.

This is the second part of our live show featurin…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Murder & Mayhem in the Capital City w/ Major Garrett, Doug Heye & Margaret Talev (Live in DC part 1)

Episode 338

Major Garrett (CBS News), Margaret Talev (Syracuse University/Axios) & Doug Heye (too many to list) join Bob & Ben for a conversation about Washington, DC’s long history of scandals and how media has…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Christian Capitalism in the Early American Republic w/ Joseph Slaughter

Episode 337

Few American Christians in the 21st Century question the compatibility of their faith with a capitalist economic system. Two hundred years ago, however, the social and economic changes that came with…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

No Elevator to Everest w/ Will Acuff

Episode 336

Ben & Bob sit down with friend and community builder Will Acuff for a conversation about how to find the good in life. Will founded the non-profit Corner to Corner, which “co-creates economic partici…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

The Good Friday Agreement and the Future of Ireland w/ Mark Doyle & Greg O’Loughlin

Episode 335

The Good Friday Agreements of 1998 marked a turning point in Irish history, bringing an end to three decades known as The Troubles and laying a course for a better future for the people of Ireland. I…

Published on 4 months ago