George Washington's many courageous acts with Alexis Coe
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 11-27-2024In this episode, Matt and Alexis talk about the 1st President, George Washington, the "foundingest father," who was incredibly conscious that everything he did would set precedent for the young country he founded. Washington had as much ego, as much to prove, and as much interest in power as the 44 men who have followed him in office, but he balanced his unmatched service to his country with his desire to have a private life in a way that defines virtue in the highest office in the country. Alexis Coe Alexis Coe is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling...
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Abraham Lincoln and the balance of politics and sainthood, with Sean Wilentz
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 10-24-24 In this episode, Matt and Sean talk about the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the most defining moments in American history. Although arguably not so much Country Over Self in the moment, the Emancipation Proclamation was difficult both politically and with the general population, and it took the shrewdness and communication skills of Lincoln to bring it to life and change the course of the Civil War and the nation. Sean Wilentz Sean Wilentz studies U.S. political and social history. He received his Ph.D. in...
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George H.W. Bush's "famous last words" campaign promise, with Mark Updegrove
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 10-24-24 In this episode, Matt and Mark talk about the 41st President, George H. W. Bush, and his campaign promise of "Read my lips, no new taxes" during the 1988 presidential campaign, and how that promise clashed with the realities of governing that led to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and a balanced budget...and ultimately sowed the seeds of Bush's defeat in the 1992 election. Mark UpdegroveMark K. Updegrove is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News. From 2009 to 2017, he was the director of the...
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John Adams's rationale for virtue with Joseph Ellis
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 10-2-2024 00:00 Introduction to Country Over Self 00:33 Meet Joseph Ellis: Historian of John Adams 02:36 John Adams: The Most Human of the Founding Fathers 04:15 Adams' Role in the American Revolution 05:58 John Adams' Presidency and Political Challenges 11:23 Adams' Peace Treaty with France 26:25 Adams' Correspondence with Jefferson 34:00 Rapid Fire Questions and Reflections 38:58 Closing Remarks and Call to Action In this episode, Matt and Joe talk about the 2nd President, John Adams, his unusual rationale for making virtuous decisions, the remarkable story of his...
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Richard M. Nixon and the fallacy of Country Over Self with Rick Perlstein
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 09-26-2024 In this episode, Matt and Rick talk about the 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon as a case study of why there is no such thing as Country Over Self -- that successful politicians by definition fuse together their electoral success, their view of what's best for America, and therefore their actions while in office. Rick Perlstein Rick Perlstein is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan; Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, a New York Times bestseller picked...
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Gerald R. Ford's pardon of Nixon and Betty Ford making her private difficulties public with Richard Norton Smith
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 09-27-2024 In this episode, Matt and Richard talk about the 38th President, Gerald R. Ford, and his pardon of his predecessor, Richard Nixon, who resigned in disgrace and under threat of impeachment for the Watergate scandal - a move that almost certainly led to Ford's defeat in the 1976 election against Jimmy Carter. Matt and Richard also talk about First Lady Betty Ford's courageous decision to turn her private struggles with cancer and alcoholism public so as to raise awareness and reduce stigmatism. Richard Norton SmithBorn in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1953,...
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FDR's consequential presidency and Eleanor Roosevelt's intertwined career with HW Brands
Country Over Self
Originally recorded on 09-27-2024 In this episode, Matt and Bill talk about the 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt was in office longer than any other president and led the country through more turbulence, both home and abroad. And yet, what stands out is less Roosevelt's moral courage or altruism, and more his ability to fuse what he saw as good for the country with what was good for him politically, his shrewd political instincts, and his ability to mobilize both government and the population to get behind his vision and his...
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Grover Cleveland's superhuman moral courage with Troy Senik
Country Over Self
Recorded on 09-26-2024 In this episode, Matt and Troy talk about the 22nd and 24th President, Grover Cleveland, the only president to serve two non-sequential terms in history (up to this week's election of Donald Trump), and some of the interesting similarities to the party alignment circumstances to today's environment. Matt and Troy cover a number of vignettes from Cleveland's time in office, including the role that "doing the right thing" played in his political life, the shocking way he handled his cancer diagnosis and surgery, and the extraordinarily gracious way he handled his defeat...
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Harry S. Truman and early recognition of Israel with Gary Ginsberg
Country Over Self
In this episode, Matt and Gary talk about the 33rd President, Harry S. Truman. An accidental - and somewhat unprepared President who succeeded Franklin Delano Roosevelt after only 73 days on the job as Vice President, Truman became a titan of foreign policy, leading the post-World War II international order. Truman was caught in a dilemma that pitted what he believed to be moral -- the creation of a Jewish homeland after the horrors of the Holocaust -- with what was politically acceptable to the loudest voices in his own administration, when he decided to recognize the fledgeling...
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James A. Garfield and Civil Service Reform with CW Goodyear
Country Over Self
In this episode, Matt and Charlie talk about the 20th President, James A. Garfield. While most Americans wouldn't be able to pick Garfield out of a lineup, and he was only president for a handful of months before he died of an assassin's bullet and the ensuing infection that came from the primitive medical care available in the late 19th century. The wheels of motion for his assassination were set in motion by a decision that seems small and quirky today, but which was incredibly consequential at the time and shook the foundations of Machine Politics and the Spoils System that...
info_outlineIn this episode, Matt and Julian talk about the 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and how Johnson used his detailed knowledge of the legislative process and his unique blend of personal intimidation and charm offensive to bring about what he considered the moral imperative of his day: Civil Rights and Voting Rights. In so doing, Johnson made a meaningful political sacrifice that hurt his Democratic party in a way that reverberates even today.
Julian Zelizer
New York Times best-selling author Julian E. Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a CNN Political Analyst, a regular guest on NPR’s "Here and Now," a guest host on POTUS Sirius XM, and a columnist for Foreign Policy. He is the award-winning author and editor of 26 books including, The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society, the winner of the D.B. Hardeman Prize for the Best Book on Congress and Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, co-authored and Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party.
The New York Times named the book as an Editor's Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books in 2020. His most recent books are Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement and The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment (Editor), Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Lies and Legends About Our Past (co-edited with Kevin Kruse), and Our Nation At Risk: Election Security as a National Security Issue (co-edited with Karen Greenberg). He is currently working on a new book about the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the 1964 Democratic Convention entitled ‘Is this America?’: Reckoning With Racism at the 1964 Atlantic City Democratic Convention. In January 2025, Columbia Global Reports will publish his book, In Defense of Partisanship. Zelizer, who has published over 1300 op-eds, has received fellowships from the Brookings Institution, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the New York Historical Society, and New America.
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Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.