I have no idea what this means, but a site called Feed Spot ranks The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast 41st in its “70 Best American History Podcasts” list. We haven’t done a new episode yet in 2024, but […]
History Podcasts
Warren Throckmorton is now fact-checking David Barton on a podcast
The new edition of Warren Throckmorton’s Getting Jefferson Right is here! Current managing editor Jay Green offers a blurb: In Getting Jefferson Right, Throckmorton and Coulter provide a valuable public service to readers in at least two important respects. First, they expose some […]
Episode 124: “Christian Capitalism in Early America”
In this episode we talk with Wesleyan University historian Joseph Slaughter, author of Faith in Markets: Christian Capitalism in Early America. He offers a new account of the interplay between religion and capitalism in early American history by focusing on 19th-century […]
Episode 121: “Reagan’s Evangelical Vision for America”
How did Ronald Reagan use the media to shape his evangelical vision for America, a vision rooted in political freedom, economic freedom, and religious freedom that is still with us today and continues to define the discourse of both of […]
Episode 119: “How the Social Gospel Undermined Social Democracy”
There was a profound difference between Christian Socialism and the so-called “Social Gospel.” Janine Giordano Drake explains these differences in her new book The Gospel of Church: How Mainline Protestants Vilified Christian Socialism and Fractured the Labor Movement. Drake argues that […]
Episode 117: “The Idea of Fraternity in America”
What is fraternity? Our guest in this episode of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast, political scientist Susan McWilliams Barndt, discusses her father’s 1973 magnum opus The Idea of Fraternity in America. We talk about the work of Wilson Carey […]
Are you listening to The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast?
We talk to authors, teachers, museum professionals, and historians. Over the years we have interviewed Jim Grossman, Daniel K. Williams, Yoni Appelbaum, Sam Wineburg, Tim Grove, Nate DiMeo, Paul Lukas, Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter Onuf, Marc Dolan, Steve Edenbo, Ann Little, […]
Episode 115: “Evangelicalism: Its Metaphors and Stories”
What is American evangelicalism? In her new book The Evangelical Imagination, Karen Swallow Prior, one of the most careful observers of, and participants in, evangelical life, analyzes the literature, art, and popular culture that has surrounded the movement and unpacks some of […]
Episode 114: “How Slavery Helped Grow the American Catholic Church”
Did you know the Jesuits were some of the largest slaveholders in colonial America? Our guest in this episode is Rachel L. Swarns, author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved And Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. We […]
Episode 111: “The Evangelical Battle Over the End Times”
If you want to learn more about the evangelical fascination with the rapture, Israel, the antichrist, and the prophetic books of the Bible you will enjoy this episode. Our guest is Daniel Hummel, author of The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: […]
Episode 54: “Respecting life, but not all costs”
A Catholic expert on right-to-die cases testifies at the Terri Schiavo trial. Episode 54: “Respecting life, but not at all costs’ dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. To listen […]
Episode 53: “Michael Schiavo Takes the Stand”
The 2000 Terri Schiavo trial gets under way. Episode 53: “Michael Schiavo Takes the Stand’ dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. To listen to previous episodes click the word […]
Episode 52: “Introducing the Terri Schiavo Case”
In the first half of 2005, the Christian Right poured all its energy into this controversial Florida right-to-life case. Episode 52: “Introducing the Terri Schiavo Case’ dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this […]
Episode 109: “The Voice and Faith of Sojourner Truth”
In this episode we talk with historian and biographer Nancy Koester about her new book on nineteenth-century abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth. Our discussion focuses on Truth’s lifelong pursuit of a just society, a deeper knowledge of God, and […]
Episode 108: “The Life and Legacy of C. Vann Woodward”
In this episode we explore the life, ideas, and writings of one of the 20th-century most influential American historians–C. Vann Woodward, author of The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Our guest is James Cobb, author if C. Vann Woodward: America’s Historian. In […]
Episode 51: “The Politics of Tinky Winky”
As animated programs for kids and adults become more inclusive, conservative evangelicals fight back. Episode 51: “’The Politics of Tinky Winky;’’ dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is […]
Episode 107: “The Politics of Smallpox in Revolutionary America”
The American Revolution happened in the midst of a smallpox epidemic. In one of the timeliest history books of the publishing season, historian Andrew Wehrman visits the podcast to talk about what the patriots of the American Revolution and the […]
Episode 104: “The Roots of American Public Education”
Are you an educator? An administrator? A school board member? Does your life intersect in some way with a public school? If so, this episode is for you. We talk about the religion and transatlantic roots of American public education […]
Episode 50: “Happy Birthday Jesus!”
The Christian Right tries to “put the Christ back in Christmas” Episode 50: “’Happy Birthday Jesus!;’’” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: If you like […]
Episode 103: Spiritual Socialists
Does the American Left have religion problem? What can progressives learn from people like Dorothy Day, Ignazio Silone, Henry Wallace, Staughton Lynd, and Cornel West? Many of these thinkers and activists offered a powerful vision for a moral and just […]