#332 The American Historical Association w/ Sarah Weicksel & Ed Ayers
The Road to Now
The American Historical Association was chartered by Congress in 1884 and has played an essential role in helping foster and spread great historical research. AHA incoming Executive Director Sarah Weicksel and pioneering public historian Ed Ayers join us for a discussion of AHA’s history, its current projects and the damage that recent government policy has done to historians’ ability to create and share an honest history of the United States. Learn more by visiting the American Historical Association’s website at The report discussed in this episode is is Director of Research and...
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#331 The Global Economy Past & Present w/ Jari Eloranta
The Road to Now
America’s role in the world is ‘changing’ and as much as things look new, we’ve seen a lot of this before. Economic Historian joins us to put NATO military spending, the looming trade war and other recent global developments in historical context. As always, there’s a lot that history can teach us when we pay attention to those who know it best. Dr. Jari Eloranta is a Professor of History at the University of Helsinki where he specializes in Economic History. He has published extensively on the history of military spending and trade. Before moving back to his home country of...
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National History Day w/ Cathy Gorn & Don Wildman
The Road to Now
Last week the Trump Administration announced it would be cutting more than a thousand grants to the National Endowment for the Humanities, including grants for every state humanities council. In a letter the administration stated that the NEH would be “repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of President Trump’s agenda.” One major organization suffering from these cuts is National History Day, a brilliant program that has inspired young Americans for decades. To remind folks what we stand to lose, we’re sharing our 2024 conversation on National History Day...
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Country Capitalism w/ Bartow Elmore
The Road to Now
RTN is coming to Washington DC on May 29! Join us for a night of stories of murder and mayhem with guests Major Garrett, Margaret Talev, and Doug Heye at the Hamilton Live! You can get tickets and details at – hope to see you there! The “Amazon economy” seems like something new, but it rests on the physical and intellectual infrastructure built by those who came long before the age of the internet and leaves many of the same marks on the environment. Prominent in this story are five companies- Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Walmart, Bank of America, and FexEx- all of which have...
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#330 Blank Checks w/ Ben & Bob
The Road to Now
With tariffs, the Enemy Alien Act, and politically driven calls for judicial impeachment in the headlines, Ben & Bob decided to sit down and put these developments in historic context. We’ve never been so disappointed to have such a great reason to discuss the history we love! Some recommended readings: This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
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The Corruption of Libertarian Philosophy w/ Andrew Koppelman
The Road to Now
Libertarianism has had a tremendous influence on American politics, but according to Andrew Koppelman, its most prominent adherents have stripped libertarian philosophy of its more humane intentions. In this episode, Andrew joins Bob and Ben for a discussion about his book, and why he contends that libertarian philosophers such as Friedrich Hayek have been stripped of their original intent by those who have ulterior motives. Dr. Andrew Koppelman is John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. You can learn more about his work at ...
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#329 Necropolis: Disease, Power & Capitalism in 19th Century New Orleans w/ Kathryn Olivarius
The Road to Now
Come see us May 29th at the Hamilton Live in DC! joins Bob & Ben to explain the powerful role that Yellow Fever played in shaping all aspects of life in New Orleans during the 19th century. Kathryn is Associate Professor of History at Stanford University and the author This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
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#328 Protect Democracy w/ Anne Tindall
The Road to Now
Our next live show is in Washington, DC on May 29! is Special Council at the non-partisan group , where she works to ensure that elections are free and fair, to prevent political violence, and to secure accountability for abuses of power at the federal and state level. In this episode she joins us to talk about the still unsettled results of North Carolina’s Supreme Court election from November, and Republican Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to convince the courts to throw out sixty thousand ballots in a race where his challenger, incumbent Allison Riggs, won by just 734 votes....
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The Civilian Conservation Corps w/ Neil Maher
The Road to Now
Just announced: The next Road to Now Live is May 29 at The Hamilton Live in Washington, DC! Between 1933 and 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps enlisted more than three million young men in a project that planted two billion trees, slowed soil erosion on forty million acres of farmland, and enjoyed support across political and geographic divides. In this episode we talk with Neil Maher, author of about how the CCC helped solidify FDR’s New Deal and spread the seeds of environmental activism for generations to come. is a Professor of History and Master Teacher in the...
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Women & American Slavery w/ Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
The Road to Now
Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers’ is a historian whose work has shed new light on the roles that women played in American slavery. In this episode, she joins Ben and Bob to share some of the significant findings of her work, the sources she’s used to learn more about enslaved people and female slaveowners, and her new project, which reorients our understanding of the British Atlantic slave trade by centering the story on the lives of both free and captive women. is Associate Professor of History at the University California, Berkeley and the author of the award-winning book She is also one of...
info_outlineThe Miss America pageant has always had its critics, but the stories of the organization and those who participated in it are far more dynamic than most people recognize. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Amy Argetsinger whose new book There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America explains Miss America’s origins, how the pageant both shaped and was shaped by American society, and why it might be okay that the pageant’s significance in American culture has faded.
Bonus: Bob calls Miss USA “the confederacy of beauty pageants.” Listen to find out why that makes sense!
Amy Argetsinger is an editor for The Washington Post’s acclaimed Style section, where she has overseen coverage of media, popular culture, politics and society. Her new book There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America was published by Atria//One Signal Publishers in September of 2021. You can follow Amy on twitter at @AmyArgetsinger.
This is a rebroadcast of episode 210, which originally aired in October 2021. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.