My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
Channel Details
My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
Since 2006, this podcast has been using history to elevate today's political debates. "The perfect antidote to bloviating talking heads, My History is thoughtful, nuanced, and highly engaging." -Columbia Journalism Review
Recent Episodes
311 episodes
OUR MEDIATED REPUBLIC, PART ONE
Eisenhower gets irritated. Lincoln finds a friend. Theodore Roosevelt seeks the truth at lunch. Madison sees talent. Greeley won't miss his dinner, de...
20 YEARS OF MY HISTORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR POLITICS
It went by fast! Show update. We've reached a milestone. And a few things you can do if you are interested.
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PROTEST: HOW CHANGE IS MADE -(From 2013) Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer and Other Change Movements
Does Protest work? Maybe, with other steps & factors. Looking at the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer, Mothers of the Disappeared and the Ameri...
NIXON VERSUS PLYWOOD: INFLATION, AND OTHER Presidential Price Control Stories
Stories of Presidential inflation fighting and fund-raising that seem to have a similar ring to today's events, in this episode. Nixon's plans to cut...
SHAYS' REBELLION
The history behind a rebellion against a state of the new United States, why it happened, its impact on our Constitution, and what it means today. Fro...
THE MAN WHO SOLD YORK, PENNSYLVANIA. AND OTHER STORIES
A.B. Farquhar would go on to be an advisor to President Cleveland and run his successful non consecutive re election campaign.
But prior...
LONELY MIDTERM, 1970
Nixon's first presidential midterm election (the election in which the House and Senate would be up for election) would turn out to be his last, but n...
THE ZILCH MEMO
Nixon's long buried memo reveals a lot, maybe
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TRUMP AND HARRAH'S
an early project doesn't go so well. A corporate entity finds it can't work well with the Don, and walk away, after court battles. For Trump, it's for...
CHESTER ARTHUR'S SON AND GRANDSON
A brief look at the family legacy of Chester Arthur, his son and grandson. From the White House to San Francisco's hippie scene.
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CHESTER ARTHUR TAKES AIM AT TARIFFS
Many know of President Arthur's work on civil service reform. Less known is that he also sought to change his party's position on the use of tariffs....
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOLD STANDARD?
Officially, as any part of US policy, tiny room in 1982. We tell that story.
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NATIONAL VAHALLA: ALL ABOUT STATUES, MONUMENTS, STATUE REMOVAL
From the early attempts to depict Washington, to the first Congressional attempts to block Confederate statues, to today's debate. In this episode Bru...
SCOTUS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP DECISION - Trump v. Barbara, Decision and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch's Takes
not a surprise in my book, but the SCOTUS recently ruled on Trump's executive order of 2025 denying citizenship by birth in the United States. We look...
"WHY BRITAIN LOST" Whitelaw Reid 1906 London Speech Explaining The American Revolution
Forgotten but once famous, Whitelaw Reid was a top journalist and politician of his time. In 1906, as ambassador to Britain, the former vice-president...
GUNS: THE WORD "INFRINGE": History of a Word and The Gun Debate
What's in a word? Lots, maybe, when its a key word in the most contentious debate in America. The word "infringe" determines the threshold of how the...
Playing Cards With the Signers of The Declaration w/ Jason Petri
First - The history of the Declaration -- the actual document, and how it was saved from British capture. Then we speak with listener Jason Petri abo...
A SECOND LOOK AT THE EVENTS of 1776 w/ Tom McMillan, Author of "The Year That Made America"
With Tom McMillan, we take a look at some of the assumptions of 1776 in the history books. First of all, why July 4th and Not July 2nd? And wha...
Snack, Dessert, Dinner, Supper: The Paris Peace Accords
Nixon's first bombing campaigns had the names of mealtimes which seem to also correspond with the years of his first term: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972. In...
ARTICLE ONE GUY: Listener Talk with Page Brousseau
Congress should be doing a lot more, and they would in Listener Page Brousseau's world. He and Bruce talk about Michigan, Article I, tariffs, and part...
WATERGATE PASTRY: Part I - Almost a Shooting
In this series, we uncover the lesser-known stories of Watergate.
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BOLD IDEAS AND CATHARTIC TRUTHS - Listener Talk With Chris Novembrino
Chris joins the show again - it' s been a while. We catch up and talk today's politics.
Chris's Instagram is @doctor_nov
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LINCOLN'S BLUE MIDTERM: 1862
From 2010, but still spot on...Lincoln had just one miderm in his Presidency, and it didn't go well. He very nearly lost control of Congress during a...
NIXON IN FULL: Part 2
A great accomplishment and a historic scandal. And not the scandal you are thinking of, probably.
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Nixon in Full
Nixon - a mix of what you know and what you may not. First part of a 2014 episode. I don't know whether time has changed this cast, or if this cast ha...
CALIFORNIA BANK ROBBERIES: Talking With Listener Peter Houlahan
I talked with Peter about bank robberies in California in the 1970's through the 1990's and why it was the bank robbery capital of the country.
...
IRAN-IRAQ WAR - PART TWO
Stalemate breaks in a surprise operation. An apathetic America gets involved on both sides. The fighting stops, but nothing is the same after 1988.
THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR - PART ONE
This terrible war, fought in the 1980's, changed everything. Both in the Middle East, and America. We tell the story in two parts.
We are...
BONUS ARMY March of 1932: Ohio v. The World Featuring Bruce Carlson of My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
We join Alex Hastie of Ohio v. The World Podcast once again!
and Author Paul Dickson (https://www.amazon.com/Bonus-Army-American-Epic/dp...
CRANKY CONFEDERATES: THE C.S.A. MIDTERMS OF 1863-4
It had a short history, but within the time of the Civil War, the Confederate States had two Congressional elections. The second in 1863 (and 1864 in...
TUNING IN FROM MAINE: Talking to My History Can Beat Up Your Politics Listeners: Kevan Whitten
Kevan Whitten has been listening for at least a decade and a half. He's from Maine (So we have to talk James Blaine) and he's talks about the program...
2002 MIDTERM: Against The Trend
The midterm election that didn't. In 2002, With national security on the minds of voters and a poor message in opposition, the President's party gaine...
Zune Memories: Talking to My History Can Beat Up Your Politics Listeners - Billy Paige
We've been podcasting for 20 years and Billy Paige has listened to the show for all of those years. We talk to him and other listeners in some special...
ICH BIN AMERIKANER: Tales From The Very German United States
This phrase may have been stated by a Pennsylvanian in the 1880's described as a "German." as we talk about in this episode about family, assimilation...
VOTES DURING WARTIME: THE 1942 MIDTERMS
The island-hopping and Second-front hoping after Pearl Harbor did not bring FDR a reverse of the traditional midterm curse or a victory for his party....
RONALD REAGAN PART ELEVEN: DID REAGAN WIN THE COLD WAR?
Starting with the Reykjavik Summit of 1986 and a fly on the wall view of the events there, we look at the pro-Reagan and anti-Reagan arguments regardi...
THE FORGOTTEN FOUR WORDS IN THE 10TH AMENDMENT: "or to the people"
That's the State's Rights amendment, right? Ask just about anyone about the Tenth Amendment and they will say "States." States rights, powers, prote...
RONALD REAGAN PART NINE: SHOCKWAVE 1981
This new President is defying all norms! Shocking statements and words, crazy economic theories. Scary foreign policy. Bruce Springsteen is angry. We'...
MOVIES AND POLITICS: Writing History With Lightning: The Controversial Mix of Movies and Politics and History
from D.W. Griffith to today, we look at the controversial use of movies and film in politics. And how using video instead of argument may be popular,...
CHESTER ARTHUR Part 4: The Pistol and the Transom
Political violence changes politics. Vice President Chester Arthur is getting the hang of Parliamentary procedure, and building a reputation for being...