#359 Slippery Roads w/ Ben & Bob
The Road to Now
Having recently been hit with winter storms, Ben & Bob catch up to talk about the literal and figurative slippery roads all around us. The conversation covers talking politics when we don’t agree, the Epstein files and more. We also talk about one of the more exciting events on the horizon: Bob’s new book, America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick, which drops on March 10! Make sure to This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
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Colombia, the US and the War on Drugs w/ Lina Britto
The Road to Now
Most Americans are aware of Colombia’s role in the international drug trade, but we know less about the role that Americans’ played in the story as consumers, smuggling pioneers, and practitioners of a foreign policy that facilitated the rise of Colombian drug production. In this episode, shares the fascinating story of how Colombia emerged as a major supplier of drugs to American consumers and how this relationship affected people in both countries. She also explains the origins of the “War on Drugs” in the US and tells the story of how Americans hippies in search of marijuana...
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#358 Storm at the Capitol w/ Mary Clare Jalonick
The Road to Now
In just five years, the story of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US capitol has already seen more bad faith reinterpretations than most events get over the course of generations. Fortunately, has brought a diverse set of voices together in her new book, . In this episode, Mary joins us to talk about her experience as a journalist who was on the ground that day covering Congress for the Associated Press, what she learned from talking to others about their experiences, and the core facts about the insurrection that should underpin any serious discussion of that day. This episode...
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#357 Venezuela in Context: US Foreign Policy in Latin America w/ Michelle Paranzino
The Road to Now
The Trump administration’s decision to depose Nicolas Maduro and take control of Venezuela’s natural resources may have been rash, but to those familiar with the history of US-Latin American relations, it looks familiar. In this episode, Naval War College Associate Professor of Strategy & Policy, , joins us to break dow n the greater history of US foreign policy in Latin America and how that can inform good policy moving forward. The views expressed by Dr. Paranzino are her own and do not reflect the views of her employer or any other part of the US Government. This episode was edited...
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#356 The Monroe Doctrine w/ Jay Sexton
The Road to Now
The Monroe Doctrine has provided Presidents and foreign policy leaders with the rhetorical justification for their actions going back as far as James K. Polk, but the symbolic power attributed to the doctrine is far more substantial than the impact it had when it was published in 1823. In this episode, historian Jay Sexton walks us through the evolution of the Monroe Doctrine in political rhetoric, its implications for modern US foreign policy and why he claims that, in its original form, it amounted to a “nothingburger.” is the Rich and Nancy Kinder Chair of Constitutional Democracy,...
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#355 Money in American Politics w/ Jeff Clements
The Road to Now
Worried about money in American politics? We are too, and Jeff Clements is offering up a solution. Jeff is CEO of , a non-partisan organization dedicated to passing the to the Constitution, which would differentiate between people and corporations, and allow states to pass their own campaign finance laws. In this episode, he breaks down the history of campaign finance laws, key moments, such as the Citizens United Case, that have brought us to where we are now, and the steps his team have already taken to help add another amendment to the US Constitution. If you want to sign the...
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#354 In Pursuit w/Anita McBride & Colleen Shogan
The Road to Now
is one of the foremost experts on the legacy of American first ladies. served as the 11thArchivist of the United States. Together, they’re bringing forward a new project called In Pursuit, which offers up a series of essays on Presidents and First Ladies by some of today’s most accomplished historians and political leaders. In this episode, Anita and Colleen join Ben and Bob for a discussion about how the project came together, the exciting (and surprising) list of authors and subjects they’ve assembled, and why the format they envision holds a lot of promise for public...
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How John Adams Defined the Presidency w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
The Road to Now
John Adams’ single term as President has long been cast as a low point in his political career, but Lindsay Chervinsky sees it differently. “George Washington created the Presidency,” she writes in her new book Making the Presidency, “but John Adams defined it.” In this episode, Lindsay joins us to share why she sees Adams as a crucial figure in transforming an office that had been established for, and created by, George Washington, into a position with the customs and practices that could be passed down through generations. Along the way, Lindsay explains why she thinks...
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Americana w/ Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
The Road to Now
What is Americana music? Is it a genre? A community? A refuge? Twenty four years after the founding of the and thirteen years since the first Grammy was awarded for Best Americana Album, defining “Americana” remains tricky. In our experience, the most common answer has been “you know it when you hear it.” However you define it, however, there is one thing everyone agrees on: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell are Americana legends. In this episode, recorded in front of a live audience in Nashville, TN, Emmylou and Rodney discuss their musical careers, how they became...
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#353 The American Revolution w/ Sarah Botstein & David Schmidt
The Road to Now
A decade after Ken Burns decided it was time to take on the American Revolution, the film is finished and premieres on your local PBS station on Sunday, November 16! In this episode, we talk with and , who directed the six-part series alongside Burns, to find out more about the stories and process that they used to construct this remarkable look at one of history’s most fascinating and consequential events. and make sure to tune in for the premiere on Sunday, November 16! This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
info_outlineFixing the American healthcare system has been one of the most difficult and divisive problems in modern US history. The Affordable Care Act has helped more Americans than ever gain insurance, yet the remaining problems have led the Republican-controlled Congress to put “repeal and replace” at the top of their legislative agenda in 2017. Why has health insurance been such a tricky issue in the United States? Why did our insurance model develop differently than in other industrialized countries, and how can understanding this help us overcome the problems we face today?
In this episode of The Road to Now, Dr. Melissa Thomasson helps us answer these questions by taking us through the history of the American health insurance system. We also offer up another installment of Path to the Present (the podcast within a podcast) in which Matt Negrin and Alex Trowbridge provide a concise history of the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Believe me- this episode is YOUGE!
Melissa Thomasson is Julian Lange Professor of Economics at the University of Miami and an expert on the economic history of the American health care system.
For more on this episode can be found at our website: www.theroadtonow.com