Axelbank Reports History and Today
"Axelbank Reports History and Today: Conversations with America’s top non-fiction authors and why their books matter right now" approaches our past and present in a way that makes anyone want to listen. National-award winning TV news reporter Evan Axelbank interviews writers of history and current events to explore how America works and how it has been shaped by both the powerful and the powerless. In conversational and engaging fashion, listeners learn about the most important events, themes and figures in American history. This podcast shows why we have no choice but to understand where we have been, to know where we are going.
Podcasting since 2020 • 196 episodes
Axelbank Reports History and Today
Latest Episodes
#195: Andrew Burstein - "Being Thomas Jefferson: "An Intimate History"
From the publisher: "The deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon.Perhaps no founding father is a...
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53:51
#194: Richard Bell - "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World"
It's almost the 250th anniversary of America's founding. Not only did the Revolution define the fate of the continent, Dr. Richard Bell argues it was a harbinger for the rest of the world. On this episode, we explore how he discovered that, and...
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55:51
#193: Vaughn Joy - "Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy"
From the publisher: Christmas is not just a day or a frame of mind as Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) imparts in Miracle on 34th Street (1947); Christmas is also a vehicle for national mythmaking as an idealising mirror for American cultur...
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52:56
#192: Charles Ferguson - "Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David"
From the publisher: "The Presidential Retreat Camp David is shrouded in mystery, and rightfully so. The hidden retreat atop the Catoctin Mountains is the one place the President, First Family, and invited guests can gather in absolu...
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50:54
#191: Matthew Davis - "A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore"
From the publisher:"A comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument's 100th anniversary in 2025“Well, most people want ...
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55:20