Best SMU Center for Presidential History Podcasts (2024)

1
Mourning the Presidents (Lindsay Chervinsky and Matthew Costello) 20:41

1+ y ago20:41

20:41

For the conclusion of this season, we examine conclusions: the deaths of presidents. Not just presidents who died while in office, but those who died years after they retired from the presidency and the constant limelight. Our journey through the lives, deaths, and legacies of our presidents from 1799 to today offers surprising revelations about th…

1
The Peacemaker (William Inboden) 13:22

1+ y ago13:22

13:22

The early 1980s was a time of great political uncertainty. With the threat of nuclear destruction seemingly imminent, the emergence of global terrorism, and the rise of proxy conflicts in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, Ronald Reagan entered the White House with many global security problems on his hands, and very few clear solutions. He wasn’t al…

1
Framing Reconstruction (Gallagher and Waugh) 19:30

1+ y ago19:30

19:30

Many Americans, if they know about Reconstruction at all, likely think of it as a failed venture. What had begun in 1865 as an opportunity to guarantee equal citizenship and rights for African Americans, fizzled out as citizens and elected officials became apathetic, or even hostile to the struggle for equality. Our guests today survey the four pre…

1
Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts (Blake Ball) 7:34

1+ y ago7:34

7:34

Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang are some of the most recognizable characters in American pop culture. From Snoopy’s doghouse to Linus’s blanket to Lucy’s perpetual football prank, the scenes from this iconic comic strip are imprinted in the memories of many Americans even today, more than 70 years after the strip’s debut. However, behind the lem…

1
Petroleum and Progress in Iran (Gregory Brew) 18:23

1+ y ago18:23

18:23

Oil runs the world. From our cars to our houses, most of us can’t live without it. From the 1940s to the 1960s, though, oil played another specific role as a central part of conflict and diplomacy during the Cold War. It was during this era that Iran developed into the world’s first “petro-state”: a nation whose state revenue, industrializing econo…

1
Japanese American Incarceration (Stephanie Hinnershitz) 15:24

1+ y ago15:24

15:24

Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, stands out as a major affront to the promise of American liberty. In 1942, this executive order forced approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes on the western coast, and incarcerated them in makeshift prisons all around the nation. Our guest today explains today tha…

1
Paper Trails: The U.S. Post & the Making of the American West (Cameron Blevins) 6:21

1+ y ago6:21

6:21

When we think about the history of westward expansion and the growth of state power in the United States, the postal system probably isn’t the first institution that comes to mind. But this week, that’s exactly what we’ll be exploring: the unsung power and reach of the U.S. Postal Service in the late-19th century America. It took Anglo-Americans ne…

1
The Third Reconstruction (Peniel Joseph) 15:04

1+ y ago15:04

15:04

A conversation with Dr. Peniel Joseph (University of Texas at Austin) about his new book, The Third Reconstruction: America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century.By SMU Center for Presidential History

1
Joseph Smith for President (Spencer McBride) 8:17

1+ y ago8:17

8:17

We welcome Dr. Spencer McBride for a conversation about his book Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom (Oxford UP, 2021). Dr. McBride tells us about Joseph Smith's story from his days as the founder & leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to his presidential campaig…

1
Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries who Remade American Politics in the 1990s (Nicole Hemmer) 10:09

1+ y ago10:09

10:09

It’s finally here: the first episode of Conversations, Season 4 of The Past, The Promise, The Presidency! As you may have learned from previous seasons, when we at the Center for Presidential History talk about “presidential history,” we’re thinking deep and wide. And our conversations this season will be no different. The postal system, Mormons, t…

1
Norway's Balancing Act 30:07

2y ago30:07

30:07

In this final episode of "Cross Currents" we explore Norway's challenging balancing act in their relationship with the United States in the years after 9/11. How would Norway maintain a close partnership with the US, on the one hand, while also remaining committed to keeping NATO a strong and relevant worldwide alliance? In addition to this, Norway…

1
Norway's Security Dilemma 24:45

2y ago24:45

24:45

After 9/11, the United States—led by President George W. Bush—made it clear to the world they would pursue al-Qaeda and any other threats to the US national security. But rather than working directly through established security alliances like NATO, the US chose to pursue new plans, and new alliances. This shift precipitated a downturn in diplomati…

1
0. Why Norway?: An Introduction to U.S-Norway Relations during the George W. Bush Presidency 14:49

2y ago14:49

14:49

Why Norway?! You might be asking yourself this very question as you consider the big questions of diplomacy, war, and alliances during the George W. Bush presidency. Good news - this episode is here to answer that question! This episode sets the stage for us in 2001: A new president in George W. Bush An old multilateral alliance with NATO A longtim…

1
9/11 and its Aftermath 23:59

2y ago23:59

23:59

Terrorists attacked the people of the United States on September 11, 2011. But those attacks--and their reverberations--were felt by peoples all around the world, including in places like Norway, for years to come. This episode explores how Norway's leaders experienced September 11, and crucially, how they navigated Norway's alliance with U.S. in t…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode VIII: Bully Pulpits Abroad 58:06

2+ y ago58:06

58:06

This is the eighth and final episode of Season Three: The Bully Pulpit. This season, we explored many domestic policy issues, such as healthcare, women's suffrage, and land rights. But here in the 21st century, we all know that the president's voice reaches far beyond the borders of the United States. Has it always been this way? And how does the b…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode VII: Native Sovereignty and Native Removal 48:37

2+ y ago48:37

48:37

In March of 2021, Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo, became the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in US history. It was was a truly historic first, as Deb Haaland is part of a long history of Indigenous peoples that predates the United States as a nation. And today, we are going to explore the relationship between Indigenous…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode VI: Environmental Protection 49:16

2+ y ago49:16

49:16

This week, we are going to be exploring the relationship between presidents, the bully pulpit, and environmental protection. When did presidents start thinking about federal use of land? When did that consideration change from an economic one based on maximizing profit and agricultural production for white settlers to something else? We are going t…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode V: Prohibition and The War on Drugs 55:10

2+ y ago55:10

55:10

In this episode of the Bully Pulpit, we explore presidential power as it relates to prohibition and the War on Drugs. If you go looking through American history, it's not difficult to find conflict over alcohol and drugs, and the president's role in addressing them. The president of the United States has plenty to say, not just about what goes into…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode IV: Women's Suffrage and the ERA 56:52

2+ y ago56:52

56:52

This week, we are exploring women's suffrage, the Equal Rights Amendment, and how presidents have stymied or supported women's rights. In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband and urged him to remember the ladies as he worked to craft a government for the new nation. But it wasn't until 1919 that Congress actually passed a constitutional amendme…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode III: Church & State 54:16

2+ y ago54:16

54:16

Today, we are covering two topics almost guaranteed to make that Thanksgiving dinner more awkward than it already was: religion and politics, or more specifically for this episode: Church and State. If we're going to talk about a bully pulpit, then we've got to talk about the pulpit part of this equation. But we're also going there because the ques…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode II: Healthcare 55:12

2+ y ago55:12

55:12

This week, we are exploring the history of healthcare policy. Many presidents have tried to pass healthcare reform in America, but time and time again healthcare has tested the limitations and the strengths of the bully pulpit. In today’s episode, we explored the history of the federal government’s interest in healthcare from the New Deal to Obamac…

1
Bully Pulpit, Episode I: The Big Speeches™ 1:02:29

2+ y ago1:02:29

1:02:29

To kick off season three, The Bully Pulpit, we are starting with an episode on what we are affectionally calling The Big Speeches™. Moments when the president has used his unparalleled microphone and those words have left a major imprint on history. We start where it all began, with George Washington. In September 1796, Washington printed an addres…

1
Presidential Crises, Live Finale: Government Shutdown 1:03:51

2+ y ago1:03:51

1:03:51

With political gridlock in Washington DC at an all time high, government shutdowns–or the threat of them–have become a routine occurrence. National parks close. Federal paychecks stop going out. The National Institute of Health stops admitting new patients. How did we get to the point where it has become normal for the US Government to halt in its …

1
Presidential Crises, Episode VIII: The AIDS Epidemic 57:52

2+ y ago57:52

57:52

This week on The Past, The Promise, The Presidency, we are exploring a tragic national crisis that hits very close to home in 2021. The crisis of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Having lived through two years of a new coronavirus pandemic, we all intimately understand just how confusing and terrifying it can be for patients, doctors, and yes, presidents to …

1
Presidential Crises, Episode VII: The Berlin Wall & The Soviet Fall 56:29

2+ y ago56:29

56:29

This week's crisis could have ended with the world in a giant blaze of nuclear flame, but it didn't. In fact, it's an example of how a crisis can be handled so effectively, that most people don't even remember it as a crisis. This week, we are talking about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. It's November, 1989. Reagan famousl…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode VI: The Bonus Army & The 1932 March on Washington 1:05:32

3y ago1:05:32

1:05:32

Welcome to The Past, The Promise, The Presidency Season II, Episode VI: The Bonus Army & The 1932 March on Washington. This Veteran’s Day, we are examining the time that World War I veterans organized their own March on Washington. Most Americans associate the Great Depression with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But it was Herbert Hoover who was in off…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode V: Teddy Roosevelt & The Great Coal Strike of 1902 58:09

3y ago58:09

58:09

Welcome to The Past, The Promise, The Presidency Season II, Episode V: Teddy Roosevelt & The Great Coal Strike of 1902. In 1902, miners under the leadership of John Mitchell and the United Mine Workers went on strike to protest long hours, low pay, and unsafe working conditions. Mine operators and owners were determined not to concede to the miners…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode IV: Ulysses S. Grant and the Ku Klux Klan Act 1:00:58

3y ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Welcome to The Past, The Promise, The Presidency Season II, Episode IV: Ulysses S. Grant and the Ku Klux Klan Act. In our previous episode on Bleeding Kansas and the Utah War, we discussed the intense violence and bloodshed that led up to the cataclysmic wrenching of the Union in half during the Civil War. But what happened after the Union shattere…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode III: Bleeding Kansas and the Utah War 50:20

3y ago50:20

50:20

This week on The Past, The Promise, The Presidency: Presidential Crises we examine two presidential crises from the 1850s: Bleeding Kansas and the Utah War. So far this season, we've seen the nation solidify under George Washington's leadership. Then, we saw the city named for our first president nearly burned to the ground by British forces little…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode II: James and Dolley Madison and the Burning of Washington 1:12:56

3y ago1:12:56

1:12:56

This week on The Past, The Promise, The Presidency: Presidential Crises we examine how James and Dolley Madison responded to The War of 1812, often referred to by both contemporaries and historians as the "Second War of Independence." Upon arriving at the White House, British troops thoroughly enjoyed a feast and fine wine before systematically set…

1
Presidential Crises, Episode I: George Washington and Executive Power 1:27:46

3y ago1:27:46

1:27:46

Our first topic this season is our first president, George Washington, father of the country, general, surveyor, statesman, slave owner, whiskey distiller, debtor, and a man whose dental history every poor kid with braces hears about. Washington was the first man to hold the office, of course, and some still argue that he was the best. Everyone agr…

1
Episode 29: LIVE Season Finale 59:49

3+ y ago59:49

59:49

After 28 episodes covering the presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump, as well as two emergency response episodes, we’ve learned so, so much and we hope you have too. We decided to close out the season with a live season finale so that you, our fantastic listeners, could participate and shape the conversation. On Thursday, April 15, we gat…

1
Episode 28: Donald Trump 1:02:29

3+ y ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Today’s episode is all about Donald John Trump, the 45th president of the United States. So, so much to say. And yet, Trump’s presidency is also so fresh, what could we say in an introduction that you’d not already know? The only president ever impeached twice by the House of Representatives; he was also the first in more than a century to voluntar…

1
Episode 27: Barack Obama 1:04:13

3+ y ago1:04:13

1:04:13

Today’s episode is all about Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of the United States. Also, the first in more than two centuries who didn’t identify as white. Obama’s tenure remains fresh, yet hard to fully evaluate given the tumult that followed in his wake—and to some minds, the tumult that arose in direct response to his presidency. If we …

1
Episode 26: George W. Bush 1:01:06

3+ y ago1:01:06

1:01:06

Today’s episode is all about George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States. Full disclosure for those who don’t know, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum resides on SMU’s campus, about a mile as the crow flies from our offices here at the CPH. Here’s your brief primer on George W. Bush. Perhaps unnecessary to say given that…

1
Episode 25: William J. Clinton 1:00:42

3+ y ago1:00:42

1:00:42

Today’s episode is all about William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, the first baby boomer to hold the office, and indeed, the second youngest man ever elected president. Clinton’s legacy is ongoing and a work in progress even now nearly thirty years since he took office. Changing political winds, changes within the demo…

1
Episode 24: George H.W. Bush 1:06:58

3+ y ago1:06:58

1:06:58

Today’s episode is all about George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, and the man who came to the Oval Office arguably with the greatest pre-presidential resume of all. Ok, Eisenhower makes a good bid in this fight, but consider Bush’s credentials: he was a war hero, successful businessman, a congressman, Ambassador to t…

1
Episode 23: Ronald Reagan 1:09:46

3+ y ago1:09:46

1:09:46

Today’s episode is all about Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. It’s not too much a stretch to say we are living in the America Ronald Reagan envisioned, one in which market forces matter as much as morality in the formation of policy decisions, the American military is strong and taxes quite low by historical standards,…

1
Episode 22: Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter 57:24

3+ y ago57:24

57:24

Today’s episode is all about the 1970s. Which means we’re talking about two presidents today: Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. As you’ll soon hear, the 70s are hard. They were a time of transition, and historians often treat it as such, as a bridge between the raucous sixties of Vietnam and Nixon to the era of self-gratification and glitz that was the…

1
Episode 21: Richard Nixon 1:09:24

3+ y ago1:09:24

1:09:24

Today’s episode is all about Richard Milhouse Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. But the real question is…which Nixon?? Among the most mercurial of our presidents, some might say Machiavellian while others would reach for malevolent, Richard Nixon was a man who changed over the course of the more than quarter century he spent at the be…

1
Episode 20: Lyndon B. Johnson 57:10

3+ y ago57:10

57:10

Today’s episode is all about Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, and arguably its most consequential. Note we did not say best or greatest or anything overexuberant like that. But if you are talking about presidents who left their mark on American society, presidents from the past whose impact we still feel today in our …

1
Episode 19: John F. Kennedy 59:26

3+ y ago59:26

59:26

Today’s episode is all about John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States—a vigorous president forever young in our memory because tragedy snatched him too early from our view. Kennedy stands near the top of public rankings of presidential greatness, though professional historians tend to rank him slightly lower, a distinction t…

1
Episode 18: Dwight D. Eisenhower 56:33

3+ y ago56:33

56:33

Today’s episode is all about Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, a two term president with arguably the greatest pre-presidential resume of them all. It’s not everyone who could fill out a job application, and under experience, write: “saved Western civilization.” That might be a stretch, but only a small one. It was Ike,…

1
Episode 17: Harry S. Truman 1:00:45

3+ y ago1:00:45

1:00:45

Today’s episode is all about Harry S Truman, the 37th president of the United States, a man with the unenviable task of following Franklin Roosevelt, AND of overseeing the end of the largest war in human history. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked when consoling the newly-widowed Eleanor Roosevelt. Harry, she said, “is there anything WE…

1
Episode 16: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Part II 1:07:21

3+ y ago1:07:21

1:07:21

Today’s episode is all about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Actually, we have two episodes for you on FDR. He’s that important, and being the only person ever elected to the White House four times, he was also in office long enough to have created several legacies when issues of race arise. Just how important was he? Well, here’s one way to look at it:…

1
Episode 15: Franklin D. Roosevelt Part I 51:27

3+ y ago51:27

51:27

Today’s episode is all about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Actually, we have two episodes for you on FDR. He’s that important, and being the only person ever elected to the White House four times, he was also in office long enough to have created several legacies when issues of race arise. Just how important was he? Well, here’s one way to look at it:…

1
Episode 14: January 6, 2021 Insurrection 52:05

3+ y ago52:05

52:05

After the events of January 6, 2020, we invited a few friends and historians to offer their interpretations of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building. While our understanding of this historic moment will continue to evolve, we invite you to think of this conversation as a first draft of history. Featuring Dr. Jeffrey Engel, Dr. Sharron Conra…

1
Episode 13: The 1920s 1:02:56

3+ y ago1:02:56

1:02:56

Today’s episode is all about the roaring twenties. It’s a decade often recalled with wistful longing, and more than touch of trepidation. Longing, because that is what Americans largely felt in this era: a longing to move past the pain of the Great War and the great pandemic. Trepidation, for us if not for them, because we know the traumas that 193…

1
Episode 11: Woodrow Wilson Part I 59:12

3+ y ago59:12

59:12

Today’s episode is all about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States and arguably the most consequential. Note, I did not say one of the greats. They aren’t holding a spot on Mt. Rushmore for him. Certainly not lately, as the national reckoning over race during 2020 has landed hard on Wilson, whose reputation has been sullied by the…

1
Episode 12: Woodrow Wilson Part II 49:38

3+ y ago49:38

49:38

Today’s episode is all about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States and arguably the most consequential. Note, I did not say one of the greats. They aren’t holding a spot on Mt. Rushmore for him. Certainly not lately, as the national reckoning over race during 2020 has landed hard on Wilson, whose reputation has been sullied by the…

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