The Preamble
The world feels complicated. The Preamble is where it starts to make sense. Hosted by Sharon McMahon — known for making sense of complex issues — she and her guests dive deep into the stories and ideas driving our future, bringing clarity and honesty to every headline. If you want real insight, bold conversation, and answers that matter, this podcast is your must-listen. Hit play, and join the movement that will shape history. An Audacy Podcast.
Episodes
December 8, 2025 • 44 mins
Before railroads, revolutions, or even the idea of America itself, one animal with a grudge against running water built the foundations of our country. The beaver didn’t just shape rivers — it shaped history, and even sparked a war.
Then Sharon talks with psychologist and author Dr. Julia Garcia, whose new book The Five Habits of Hope offers a practical way to find your way back to hope, especially when life feels heavy.
Plus, ...
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Even the Founding Fathers had their doubts about the future of the country, but Benjamin Franklin chose to see its promise. We’ll explain how one chair gave him the answer he was searching for.
Plus, Sharon talks with philosopher Alex Madva, co-author of Somebody Should Do Something, about why so many of us feel powerless, but there’s more common ground in America than we think. So what can we do about it? He’ll tell us.
And ...
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Meet the Irish immigrant who used fireplace tongs to fight a member of Congress, was thrown in jail for insulting a president, and ultimately changed the course of American history.
Plus, Sharon talks with powerful Democratic Congressman James Clyburn in a wide-ranging conversation that touches on the drama currently happening in the House, his life growing up as a Black child in the south, and why people of color need something...
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November 19, 2025 • 2 mins
Welcome to unPAUSED, the podcast where bold, unfiltered conversations take place about what it really takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Every week, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Certified Menopause Practitioner, and #1 New York Times best-selling author, tackles the conversations women actually need to hear. Dr. Haver sits down with a variety of medical experts, CEOs, and ri...
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It’s not something you’ll read about in most history books. Sharon tells the remarkable story of Florence Hall and her Women’s Land Army: the women who took over the farming jobs American men left behind when they went off to fight World War II. These women weren’t just fill-ins, in many cases, the farms they worked on were even more successful than when the men were doing the work.
Plus, Sharon is joined again by Akhil Reed Amar,...
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November 10, 2025 • 47 mins
A shocking phone call after a routine medical exam. Despite no symptoms, Sharon’s husband had advanced kidney disease and he would die without a transplant. She shares the deeply personal story of a stranger saving Chris’s life, and what it taught her about the selflessness of others. Plus, her fascinating conversation with Colin Woodard, author of Nations Apart, who goes back generations to explain why America is so polarized, and...
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November 3, 2025 • 47 mins
Five centuries ago, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press shattered the barriers to knowledge. Today, AI is doing the same. Sharon takes you on a journey into history that is strikingly similar to where we are today. Plus, she’s joined by Randi Weingarten, author of Why Fascists Fear Teachers whom critics have called “the most dangerous person in the world.” Together, they explore why teachers remain democracy’s first line of defense...
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October 30, 2025 • 41 mins
Welcome to the very first episode of The Preamble!
Sharon kicks things off with a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday to chat about his new book, Wisdom Takes Work. Ryan shares how reading can be a superpower, allowing us to “communicate with the dead” and learn from those who came before us. And, he explains what you can do to become more wise today.
Plus, Sharon answers your most pressing questi...
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October 19, 2025 • 1 min
The world feels complicated. The Preamble is where it starts to make sense. Hosted by Sharon McMahon — known for making sense of complex issues — she and her guests dive deep into the stories and ideas driving our future, bringing clarity and honesty to every headline. If you want real insight, bold conversation, and answers that matter, this podcast is your must-listen. Hit play, and join the movement that will shape history.
C...
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October 13, 2025 • 26 mins
Though Hannah Van Buren died nearly twenty years before her husband’s presidency, her life reflected the sweeping historical forces of early America. Sharon unpacks the Dutch roots of New Amsterdam (today’s New York), how they shaped both Hannah and Martin Van Buren, and the lasting influence they left on the nation.
Credits:
Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks
Audio Producer: ...
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October 6, 2025 • 27 mins
Despite being one of Sharon’s least-favorite Presidents, she explores the lifelong, and at times scandalous, love and devotion between President Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel. It's a story of a First Lady who never got the opportunity to step foot inside the White House, but nevertheless, left her mark on her husband’s two-term presidency.
Credits:
Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
Supervising Producer: Melanie...
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September 29, 2025 • 34 mins
Stepping into the White House at the close of the Founding Fathers’ era, London-born Louisa Adams became the nation’s first foreign-born First Lady. In an age of prosperity shadowed by growing political strife, she turned personal tragedy into resilience, mastering the art of influence, forging powerful alliances, and leaving her mark on history as she helped shape John Quincy Adams’s path to the presidency.
Credits:
Host and E...
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September 25, 2025 • 2 mins
With every episode, Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett take you on a historical deep dive into the life of a woman society dismissed by calling her mad, sad, or just plain bad: Lindsay Lohan, Judy Garland, Winona Ryder, Mariah Carey, Lil Kim and many more. Join them for a rich, hilarious, and heartbreaking look into exactly what it means when we call a woman “crazy.”
The C-Word was originally published behind a paywall from 2019 - 20...
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September 22, 2025 • 29 mins
Sharon delves into the fascinating yet often overlooked life of Elizabeth Monroe. As First Lady, her health struggles and preference for formality set her apart, leaving a unique legacy that redefined White House traditions. From her early days in a wealthy New York family to her daring act of saving the life of a well-known French aristocrat during the French Revolution, Elizabeth's story is one of quiet strength and resilience.
...
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September 15, 2025 • 32 mins
It’s time to meet the woman who set the gold standard for the role of First Lady. With her natural charm and lively spirit, Dolley Madison hosted countless gatherings for Washington’s elite, turning social events into powerful political tools. Through the art of entertaining, she not only shaped the culture of the capital, but also advanced the influence and career of the nation’s fourth president, James Madison.
Credits:
Host ...
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September 8, 2025 • 28 mins
Thomas Jefferson’s wife Martha died nearly twenty years before he took office, yet history still lists her as an official First Lady. Jefferson never remarried, but two very important women supported him through his years as a widower in ways few people know. Their stories were already intertwined long before Jefferson entered the picture, and their influence would leave a mark on the presidency itself.
Credits:
Host and Execut...
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September 1, 2025 • 30 mins
Today, we’d call them the ultimate power couple. Abigail Adams, one of America’s most beloved First Ladies, sets sail across the Atlantic to join her husband, John, in the glittering city of Paris. But their story doesn’t end in Europe. Returning to Boston, the couple quickly steps onto a new stage together as President and First Lady of a young America.
Credits:
Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
Supervising Producer...
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August 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Sharon takes us into the intertwined lives of the two women who shaped Aaron Burr. Their stories reveal brilliant minds, an unquenchable hunger for knowledge, the griefs of motherhood, and the weight of untimely tragedy. Sharon turns over the stones of their lives and explores a disappearance at sea, a mysteriously scavenged portrait, and a family secret.
Credits:
Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
Supervising Produce...
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August 18, 2025 • 29 mins
Sharon explores the life of America’s first First Lady, Martha Washington, highlighting the many ways she shaped her family, the presidency, and the nation itself. Though the formal title of “First Lady” didn’t yet exist, she was affectionately known as “Lady Washington” and respected as George’s “worthy partner.” Sharon dives into many of lesser known details of her life like her first marriage, her open home policy, and her views...
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August 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Imagine being a Pulitzer Prize winning presidential historian, knowing you had extraordinarily rare primary source material and Presidential memorabilia tucked away in the cellar of your own home… and not opening it for decades? Doris Kearns Goodwin joins us today to share her journey of exploring more than 300 boxes, alongside her husband of 42 years, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, that served as a time capsule of his service in the 1960...
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