

My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
Bruce Carlson
Since 2006, this podcast has been using history to elevate today's political debates. "The perfect antidote to bloviating talking heads, My History is thoughtful, nuanced, and highly engaging." -Columbia Journalism Review
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 1, 2025 • 1h 37min
CHESTER ARTHUR - PART 5: "HE IS NOT ARTHUR ANYMORE, HE IS THE PRESIDENT!"
The untold story of the 21st President. Music by Lee Rosevere, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 22, 2025 • 19min
THE HEADSHAKE THAT CHANGED HISTORY And Other Stories
We depart from our Chester Arthur Series briefly with a focus on the moment Garfield was shot, and how a quick action by James Blaine, Secretary of State and no political friend to Arthur, might have changed history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 18, 2025 • 1h 1min
CHESTER ARTHUR - PART 4: THE PISTOL AND THE TRANSOM
Political violence changes politics. Vice President Chester Arthur is getting the hang of Parliamentary procedure, and building a reputation for being a more partisan vice president than we've seen in a while, Not on the team with his President. Then events will conspire to elevate him in an unexpected way.
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Sep 15, 2025 • 1h 7min
CHESTER ARTHUR PART 3: I WILL ACCEPT THE NOMINATION
Arthur makes an unlikely comeback in the 1880 Republican Convention in this episode. The story is a little more complex than it's often told, and involves a bit more of Arthur's skill than is often mentioned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 7, 2025 • 1h 23min
CHESTER ARTHUR PART 2: I AM A STALWART!
(2nd posting ) We look at Chester Arthur and also at Roscoe Conkling, New York Senator and political "boss" of the post-Civil War period. The two are tied together in history. Arthur was, to a point, a Stalwart, which means he supported Ulysses S. Grant and the concept of a party system. Which is also known by the name - spoils. Are Stalwarts all bad? What about Half-Breeds? We get into Arthur the Stalwart in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 2, 2025 • 51min
CHESTER ARTHUR PART 1: THE EARLY YEARS
He fought for civil rights and nearly saved New York City. But all we remember is his hair. We start our series on President Chester Arthur with a look at his boyhood / young lawyer years.
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Sep 2, 2025 • 40min
LABOR UNIONS IN FIVE ANGLES
A look at labor unions from their historical beginnings and their height in the 30s to 60s to today, (2015) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 25, 2025 • 45min
ANDY JOHNSON OPPOSES THE TELEGRAPH, AND OTHER STORIES
An invention ties together the stories of many people. A frustrated painter, a faded novelist, and a future President. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 4, 2025 • 27min
TRUMAN VS. STARK PRIMARY
We almost had no Harry S. Truman as President, except that he was able to beat a tough opponent in a primary, with his typical outworking handshaking and self-driving campaign.
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Jul 28, 2025 • 36min
BECOMING NATIONS AGAIN, w/ Adam Crepelle
"It shouldn't be that hard" says our guest. Americans first recognized Indians as tribes and as nations, at least at a national level. North America's indigenous peoples had government and effective government before european arrival.
Returning to that model of self government should therefore be an answer to today's challenges. American Indian history is the topic of discussion in this interview with Professor Adam Crepelle at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He is the author of "Becoming Nations Again."
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