The Great American Authors
Randal Wallace Presents : The Great American Authors Special Season Welcome to our special 16 episode season looking at the Great American Authors of American Literature. We take you through biographies of each of our selected authors, and pick up some writing tips from each one of them as well. Over the next 16 episodes we will look back at F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, Dr. Suess, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, J. D. Salinger, Margaret Mitchell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Ian Fleming, J. K Rowling, Pat Conroy, Gene Hackman, Kurt Vonnegut, Walter Mosley, Lee Child, Stephen King, John Grisham, Joyce Carol Oats, Sinclair Lewis, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Quayle, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, James Patterson, and the announcement about our hosts own three books: a history companion book to this podcast, and two novels by Randal Wallace. This should be a fun special Holliday season. Bob Dole will return in January 2026. This special Season in dedicated to our host's Mother Gloria Grant Wallace Bulmer who taught American and British Literature, Journalism, and South Carolina History at Myrtle Beach High School for many years. She would have loved this series. We invite you to come along with us on a wild ride through the high points and low moments of modern American History, in an effort to show the citizens of today that we are an amazing and resilient nation. Our Podcasts are separated by individual Documentary style titles. -- Season 1 : Bridging the Political Gap episodes 1 -11 --- Season 2 : Lessons in Leadership : --- The GIANTS of the Senate and Joe Biden episodes 14 - 16 ---- World War 2 Episodes 17 - 20 --- General MacArthur You're Fired Episodes 21 - 23 ---- A Celebration of the life of George Shultz episodes 26 - 28 ---- November 1963 : The end of the Age of Innocence episode 29 --- Season 3 ----The Johnson Treatment episodes 32 - 39 ---- Upheaval 1968 episodes 40 - 50 ---- Season 4: Richard Nixon 1968 -1971 The Man Who Saved the Union episodes 51 -67 ----- Season 5 Richard Nixon 1972 The Foundation of Peace episodes 71 - 96 -----1973 Ten Days in January 97 - 100 -- Season 6 Richard Nixon 1973 : Enemies at the Gate 101 - 125 ---- Season 7 Richard Nixon 1974 Through the Fire 126 - 147 ---- Season 8 Richard Nixon 1974 - 1994 The Fall and the Re-Rise of Richard Nixon. 148 - 174 plus bonus materials --- Season 9 Gerald Ford Beyond Watergate 175 -190 -- Season 10 John Jenrette. & Jimmy Carter too 191 - 224 -- Season 11 George H.W. Bush : The Leadership Lessons 225 - 250 --- Season 12: Mayor Hirsch 253 - 259, George H.W. Bush : The Sweep of History 260 - 285, Season 13 George H.W. Bush The Gulf War, The Coup, Clarence Thomas & the Cold War's End 286 - 318, Season 14 George H. W. Bush 1992 The Changing of the Guard 319 - 363 Season 15 Bob Dole 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing 364 - 402, Special Season 16 The Great American Authors 403 - (FAIR USE NOTICE : This presentation contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The use of this footage is for educational and historical commentary. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material.)
Episodes
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!!!
Last year ws a year of extremes but overall we saw our show expand to include a new local broadcast and we completed several projects we hope to bring you in this coming year of 2026. Please join us here for another exciting year at "Randal Wallace Presents" , "The Richard Nixon Experience" and " Grand Strand Politics"
Here is what is on tap for next years:
BOB D...
This episode of our podcast is a tribute for a giant figure in the history of North Carolina. Governor Jim Hunt served for 16 years and he led the way in education reform in our region of the country. The modern North Carolina owes much to his leadership in the state.
It also is a tribute to one of the great reporter of our time, journalist Peter Arnett. He had a distinctive voice that you recognized from the moment h...
Happy New Year 2026!!
In this episode we say farewell to many iconic figures on the national scene, and here locally where we record this show.
Sadly, we had so many passings in 2025 we are having to divide the New Year show in half this year. This episode we look back at the many people we lost this year.
This episode is especially dedicated to a good friend from my college days at Lander University, who was also my ...
Ernest Hemingway's life was a testament to his belief in living authentically and drawing from rich, personal experience for his writing. His three primary homes in
Key West, Havana, and Ketchum were more than just residences; they were essential backdrops and sources of inspiration for his work, each intrinsically linked to his lifestyle and creativity. Unifying these locales, and a symbol of his deep...
In this epsode we examine the mythology around the life of Ernest Hemingway. How it has shaped his place in american Literature. We follow him from war to Key west, to Havana, Cuba.
Then we travel out west as the Castro Government takes control of Cuba and the ongoing bad blood between the American Government and Castro make it impossible for Hemingway to return to his beloved home in Cuba. We see Hemingway sink into ...
This episode is the first of three episodes that centers on the biggest star in all of American Literature, the great Ernest Hemingway.
Ernest Hemingway's writing tips center on a minimalist style, a disciplined work ethic, and his famous "Iceberg Theory" (or theory of omission), which suggests that the deeper meaning of a story should be implied rather than explicitly stated.
Here are his cor...
Two Great authors and one inspirational city are the focus of this episode.
Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis's writing advice, often delivered directly to his students or in letters, focused on the practicalities of a writing life and the raw discipline required. Some of his most memorable guidance includes the reminder that "real writers" are unstoppable and the emphasis that writing is simply hard work.
...
This episode gathers some great advice from the best authors of our current time. It is a fun episode.
The collective writing advice from these authors emphasizes core principles of discipline, clarity, honesty, and reader engagement, while acknowledging that individual processes can vary (e.g., plotters vs. "pantsers").
Common and Diverse Themes
- Discipline and Consistency: King, Mosley, and Oates all stre...
Pat Conroy’s writing tips focus on using personal experience to craft honest, passionate prose. His advice emphasizes deep exploration of one's inner world, dedicated hard work, and the importance of reading widely.
On finding your subject
- Write to understand your own life. Conroy wrote to make sense of his own story and invited readers to join him in the journey. He believed a writer's "central agon...
James Bond meets Harry Potter in this episode of our series. Two favorites of mine from across the pond in this special edition.
Ian Fleming's writing tips emphasize speed, research, clarity, and sensory detail to keep the reader engaged and "turn over the page". He wrote primarily for "pleasure and money," aiming to create compelling thrillers rather than "Literature with a capital ...
In this episode we look back at the man who can lay claim to having written the longest sentence in American Literature. He also wrote the story, "A Rose For Emily" which is a play that our host, Randal Wallace, once played the part of Homer Barron, the unfortunate beau of Ms. Emily, who they would later find dead in her bed years after he disappeared.
William Faulkner offered extensive advice on writ...
In this episode we examine the life and work of two authors who actually knew each other and corresponded as they wrote their literary masterpieces.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
From a modern perspective, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing tips emphasize the importance of deep psychological exploration, moral complexity, and meticulous craft. His advice challenges writers to move beyond simple storytelling and engage with the m...
These three writers all wrote just one novel of renown but they were gargantuan titles. We celebrate their impact on American Literature in this episode.
Harper Lee offered several writing tips centered on persistence, humility, and the importance of craft over reward. She emphasized a love for language and a dedication to writing for oneself.
Key Writing Tips from Harper Lee
- Develop a thick hid...
This episode looks at two literary giants and includes their writing tips. It also features the only writer in our entire series our host, Randal Wallace, actually met, Maya Angelou. Mrs. Morrison was at the time of her passing, America's only living Nobel Laureate for writing. This is an inspiring episode for any aspiring authors and for everyone else too.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison advised writers to embrace t...
This episode looks at three giants of American Literature who all wrote about the struggles of forgotten America. One of them, Mark Twain, is considered the Father of American Literature.
John Steinbeck is known for sharing six practical writing tips in a letter to a friend in 1962. These rules prioritize flow, discipline, and authenticity over immediate perfection:
- Focus on the daily work: Write one pag...
Is there a more terrifying writer in the world than Edgar Allan Poe, nor a more fun one to read with a child with than Theodore Geisel, "Dr. Seuss" ? I don't think so.
In this episode we chronicle two of the most extremely different authors of our entire series.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote some of the strangest and most horrifying stories ever written. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Mask...
In this episode our host honors two of his family members who passed away in recent times.
Aunt Margie Wallace - My Aunt was a substitute teacher in Darlington County for two decades after finishing a 30 year career at the sewing plant there. She was known to all the students there as "Grandma" and they turned out to her funeral in mass. She was a delightful, thoughtful lady and it is an honor for our show t...
Welcome to the first episode of our special Holiday Season, "The Great American Authors", Bob Dole's series will return in January 2026.
In this episode we welcome you to our series, an introduce you to our host, Randal Wallace's, English teacher Mother, Gloria Bulmer. She was also a writer and as part of a writing class, had some of her writing published in only one book by Coastal Carolina Unive...
In this our second episode honoring the life of Former Vice President Dick Cheney we listen to the various eulogies from his funeral in Washington D.C. at the Washington National Cathedral. They range from his cardiologist, former Press Secretary, a Former President of the United States, his grandchildren and daughter, a former Congresswoman in her own right. This is a moving selection of addresses.
On Sunday, November 15, 2025, I woke up to the news that legendary Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling Host Bob Caudle had died , peacefully, in his sleep at the age of 95. I can’t explain it but this one was like losing a lifelong friend because in a way it was.
Bob Caudle’s voice is as familiar to me as any on Earth, he has been a fixture in our home for my entire lifetime, each Saturday for my entire childhood stra...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.
"SmartLess" with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!