Axelbank Reports History and Today

There are four women who shaped the 20th Century: Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. In the first biography of the hard-nosed, beautiful, iconic movie star that draws on Taylor's massive trove of personal correspondence and photographs, best-selling author Kate Andersen Brower explains how Taylor evolved from child star to storied activist. Brower interviewed her family members, friend...

One of the biggest myths in the history of human discovery is that the idea of a spherical earth is new. In fact, it is the opposite. The incorrect idea that the world is flat is what's new. In this discussion with Daily Beast reporter Kelly Weill, we discuss her book, "Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything." She explains how most of us have misconceptions about those w...

When a president dies, it often feels as though a piece of the nation is gone with them. Americans are often witness to days of memorial services, eulogies, processions and burial ceremonies. But as Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Matthew Costello argue in their co-edited book, "Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture," the way a president is mourned immediately after their death often evolves as their...

For decades, it was a given in American news media and political leadership that those who held power, upon the selection of new leaders, would give up their positions. Until 2020, the American presidency had an unbroken string of over 225 years of transferring power peacefully. Despite personality or political party, the outgoing president always left the stage, to give way to a new person at the top. But in 2020, David Marchick w...

In "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America," Washington Post correspondent Philip Bump explains how America's largest generation became America itself. Their considerable demands on schools, infrastructure, culture and communication defined the second half of the twentieth century, and set up a generational conflict with millennials. The data-driven journalist explains how th...

If you Google "Samuel Adams," the first result that pops up is about beer. Centuries after Thomas Jefferson called Adams, "the man" of the Revolution, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff reclaims the history of perhaps the key force behind American independence. In "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams," she explains how Adams built a shadow empire of propaganda and incitement after the British w...

Until now, the story of Jews who served in the Civil War has been incomplete. Dr. Adam Mendelsohn's book aims to showcase their contributions and sacrifices while explaining how their time in the Civil War differed from that of other soldiers. From rations that were not kosher, to lack of opportunity to fully celebrate holidays, to relatively few comrades, it was not always easy for Jewish soldiers to practice their religion. ...

Why does exercise come with an outfit, a soundtrack, a gimmick and a social media post? In her book, "Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession," scholar and fitness coach Dr. Natalia Petrzela explains the history behind exercise, the inequalities the fitness industry has created, and how America has been shaped by the social pressure to work out. She also explains how her childhood fear of the ...

Biographer Neal Gabler argues Ted Kennedy's life can be divided into two sections. The first is when Kennedy catches the tide of liberalism and used that momentum to advance liberal policy goals. And the second is when he pushes against the prevailing feeling that the government should no longer protect the New Deal as stringently as before. Gabler argues that Kennedy, despite his well-known personal shortcomings, understood t...

In this episode, historian Keri Leigh Merritt explores how a pandemic exacerbated simmering inequalities in American society to produce mass death at an unprecedented scale. The book she co-edited with Rhae Lynn Barnes and Yohuru Williams, "After Life: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America," is a collection of essays where authors explore the damage that grief and fear had on our collective psych...

In his book, "The Year that Broke America," Andrew Rice doesn't just argue that the year 2000 changed things, he argued that it broke everything. From the presidential election, to the seeds of the 9/11 plot, to Elian Gonzalez to reality TV, he explains how a confluence of unfortunate incidents led America down a path from which it has never recovered. It's also easy to forget that Donald Trump waged a president...

In this episode, Dr. Jeremi Suri explains how the Civil War was only the most violent part of the attempt to subvert American democracy by southern states. During the late 1860s until the 1890s, he explains how southern politicians, white supremacists and Confederate veterans stopped Black Americans from participating in public life. In his book, "Civil War by Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy...

There are few presidents as highly regarded and as misunderstood as John F. Kennedy. The horrific death of the 35th president froze him in time, allowing his legacy to be crafted by those who wished to see him lionized, while squeezing out the critique all presidents must face in order for the nation to learn from their successes and failures. In "Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy," Dr. Stephen Knott explores his perso...

The car is the ultimate two-sided coin. It takes you where you want to go, but it pollutes. You're outside, but trapped inside. It's easier than walking or biking, but MUCH more expensive. And the history of it is loaded with incredible technological advancements, but it brought mass death to our society. In his book, "The Car: The Machine that Made the Modern World," Bryan Appleyard explains the rise of the wor...

The beginning of the movie "Lincoln" shows a horrific battle scene, where men in blue and gray are locked in hand to hand combat. There are fists, spears and guns. The division and the brutality are apparent, as soldiers discard the humanity of their opponents. Some of them died on the battlefield. We have certainly spent our fair share of time honoring the giants of the war itself. But in her book, "Healing a Divide...

The next time you watch a movie, give credit where credit is due. No, it wasn't Thomas Edison who invented movie cameras, it was a now-forgotten fellow named Louis Le Prince. Only two years after he designed his groundbreaking camera and filmed the "Roundhay Garden Scene" (which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAiYFEHI9o8), he disappeared, leaving others to grapple for position in the new medium.

Many attempts have been made to understand the insurrection at the Capitol Building. But to fully grasp what happened January 6th, 2021, to see how Donald Trump incited a mob that temporarily stopped the counting of electoral votes, chief New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker argues we must grapple with all four years of the Trump administration. He and co-author Susan Glasser argue January 6th was inevitable. Baker ...

We made it to a hundred episodes! Our celebration features a discussion between four hobbyists who have taken their passion for history to a whole new level.

Listen as host Evan Axelbank chats with Alicya Asai of the podcast "Civics and Coffee," Jeremy Anderberg of the newsletter "What to Read Next," and Steve Floyd of the website "Best Presidential Bios." We all explain why we love history an...

The president of the United States stood at the podium, faced members of a Black church who had just lost nine parishioners in a racist attack, and offered comfort, not only with words, but with silence. After twelve seconds, Barack Obama sang the hymn that had been a comfort in moments of crisis for generations. Amazing Grace.

In his new book, "Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America," form...