#370 The Declaration of Independence: A Biography of America’s Founding Text w/ Ted Widmer
Release Date: 06/08/2026
#381 The Elections of 1994 (Midterm Elections Series #4)
The Road to Now
In 1994, the Republican Party took both houses of Congress for the first time in more than four decades, defeating a Democratic Party that, just two years earlier, had pulled off a “trifecta” (winning both houses of Congress and the Presidency in a single election), and ushering in an era of GOP congressional control that would persist into the 21stcentury. How did the party that had spent most of the post-WWII era on the sidelines reemerge as a political force in the 1990s? Why did the majority of southern voters support Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction? And why did the...
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#380 The Elections of 1946 (Midterm Elections Series #3)
The Road to Now
In 1946, the Democrats had held the majority in both houses of Congress and the Presidency for fourteen years, in which time they had led the country through both the Great Depression and World War II. So why, in the first election after the end of the war, did American voters go to the polls in a midterm election and hand both the House and the Senate to the Republicans? In this episode, Bob takes the lead as we break down the reasons that American voters soured so quickly on the Democrats in 1946, the impact that the election had on American politics, and why voters returned to the...
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#379 The Elections of 1874 w/ Jefferson Cowie (Midterm Elections Series #2)
The Road to Now
Most histories mark the 1876 Presidential election as the end of post-Civil War reconstruction, but the end of that era might have already been signaled when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the 1874 midterms. Why was the party of secession able to regain so much power in the federal government less than a decade after the end of the Civil War? And how did the outcome of these elections lay the groundwork for the Compromise of 1877 and the restoration of white supremacy in the south? returns to the show to help Ben and Bob answer these questions and more in a...
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#378 The Elections of 1858 (Midterm Elections Series #1)
The Road to Now
Would Kansas be admitted as a slave state? Would the US purchase Cuba from Spain (and perhaps admit it as another slave state)? And what could be done in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dredd Scott vs. Sanford, that Congress could not regulate slavery in the territories? These questions make 1858 one of the most consequential midterm elections in American history, as well as a great place to kick off RTN’s midterm election series. In this 4-part series, Ben and Bob, along with a few special guests, will be looking at what they consider to be the most important midterm...
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Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny w/ Jeff Bieber
The Road to Now
Hannah Arendt witnessed the rise of Nazism in Germany and her groundbreaking works, including The Origins of Totalitarianism, sought to understand how regular people could be seduced by horrendous ideologies such as antisemitism and fascism. In this episode, Ben speaks with documentarian Jeff Bieber, whose new film , documents Adendt’s life as an intellectual, refugee and, eventually, an American citizen whose concerns about power remain as relevant today as they were half a century ago. Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny premiered on PBS on June 27 and For more on Jeff Bieber’s work, check...
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#377 The Hindenburg w/ Catherine Grace Katz
The Road to Now
Catherine Grace Katz joins us to talk about her new book, , and just how much the story of the ill-fated German Zepplin can tell us about the world in the years between World War I and World War II. You can pre-order your copy of Shadow Before the Flame at Catherine’s website, This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
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George Carlin’s American Dream w/ Michael Bonfiglio & Kliph Nesteroff
The Road to Now
George Carlin had a comedy career that spanned half a century, and his take on the US remains relevant more than a decade after his death in 2008. The HBO documentary tells Carlin’s story as he evolved from a clean-cut comic in the 1950s into the edgy critic who remains one of the most influential comedians of all time. In this episode, , who directed the film (along with Judd Apatow) and , a historian of comedy who is featured in the film, join Bob & Ben for a conversation about the life and times of George Carlin. If you enjoy this episode, check out our previous conversation...
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#376 Miracle Road: The Story of Research Triangle Park w/ Mack Paul
The Road to Now
North Carolina’s Research Triangle has been a hub of innovation and economic growth for more than half a century, but the most remarkable invention in the area’s history might be the park itself. In this episode, Mack Paul explains how residents of one of the poorest states in the union found a way to reimagine their future and transform the ‘Old North State’ into a global leader in scientific advancement. Mack’s new book, which he coauthored with his father, Allen, is Miracle Road: The Story of Research Park (Duke University Press, 2026. You can read excerpts from the book...
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The Pursuit of Happiness w/ Jeffrey Rosen
The Road to Now
The inalienable right to “the pursuit of happiness” is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, but what exactly does that phrase mean? While Americans today may associate it with the right to own land, opulence or some other act of acquisition, many prominent founders understood it to mean something quite different. In this episode President & CEO returns to the show to give us the full story and discuss his new book The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to...
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#375 The Road to Venecky w/ Ben & Bob
The Road to Now
Ben & Bob catch up for a conversation about bad Ai textooks, new discoveries about precolonial American societies and a new take on the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Make sure to catch Bob at his endless book tour for ! Dates available by following him on Sources discussed in this episode: · John Green, (Penguin, 2025). · Pärssinen, M., Kalliola, R., Ranzi, A. et al. Nature (2026). · Robert Sapolsky (Penguin, 2017). · Adi Schane, WDRB.com, July 29,...
info_outlineThe Declaration of Independence has a story that is much bigger than July 4th, 1776. From its origins in enlightenment thought to its evocation by modern politicians, the document has had a life that can teach us a lot about who we are and have been. In this episode, Ted Widmer joins us to discuss his new book, The Living Declaration: A Biography of America’s Founding Document, which brings together an impressive set of documents that demonstrate the Declaration’s impact on people in the US and around the world.
The Living Declaration drops on June 23, 2026. Click here to preorder a copy and make sure to visit LivingDeclaration.org for a calendar of events related to the book.
Come join Ben as he hosts a live conversation with his friend and History That Doesn’t Suck host Greg Jackson about Greg’s new book Been There, Done That in Nashville on Thursday, June 24! Click here for more info and to get tickets!
This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.