History Unplugged Podcast

Today's question comes from C. M. Ho: How much of history has been the figment of some power hungry person or group? Some historians or those that call themselves historians are not adhering to the truth either. The news, it is said, is also manipulated. Is this a new phenomena or has it always been like this? It scares me to think that truth is nowhere to be found. WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY? Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher .See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are books about presidents. There are books about cocktails. Then there are books that create and attribute a cocktail to each of the 45 U.S. presidents. Journalist and editor Mark Will-Weber has written such a book. He actually written three: Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking; Drinking with the Democrats; and Drinking with the Republicans What began as a fun exploration into Warren G. Harding's flask that he hid in his golf bag during the Prohibition years turned into a wide-ranging survey of America's love-hate relationship with alcohol...and how it affected each of its presidents. Some like George W. Bush and Donald Trump were complete tee-totalers. Others like Obama and Clinton drank in moderation. Still others imbibed so much that they gave inaugural addresses completely hammered or even went on drunk driving cruises with terrified Secret Service agents in tow. But most of all, Mark gets into America's complicated relationship with alcohol and how it transformed from the libertine years of the Founding Fathers to the alcoholic years of the Civil War to the stern years of Temperance. And he even offers suggestions for how Republicans and Democrats can use drink to get along in these divided times. In this episode we go over: Favorite libations of each president Richard Nixon's love of drunk dialing Mark's favorite cocktail: McKinley's Delight (whiskey, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur and absinthe)   RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE Recipe for McKinley's Delight How Gary Hart's Downfall Forever Changed American Politics George Washington's Tavern Porter from Yard's Brewing Company   MARK'S BOOKS Mint Juleps With Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking Drinking with the Republicans: The Politically Incorrect History of Conservative Concoctions Drinking with the Democrats: The Party Animal's History of Liberal Libations ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mark Will-Weber, a seasoned journalist and magazine editor, is the author of Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The complete History of Presidential Drinking, The Quotable Runner, and The Running Trivia Book. He lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes from Suzanne: I would enjoy anything about the French in North America, Canada and the US, early American History of the Michigan Territory, Seven Years War, etc.   WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes from August Berkshire: Is it true that the person who invented the guillotine was guillotined himself? What the story behind both events? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes from Goa Yong: Is Bloody Mary a real person?   WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.     TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes from Ryan: Was Leif Erikson really the first explorer of European descent to explore North America? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 21st century presidents can't stay out of the spotlight. Barack Obama released his NCAA tournament brackets every year on ESPN, was a regular guest on Jimmy Fallon and the rest of the late night circuit, and was the first president to use Twitter. Donald Trump has gone even further with social media, using Twitter as a permanent means to bypass traditional media channels. But they are not the first consumers, or producers, of popular culture in the White House. Throughout America’s history, occupants of the White House have interacted with and been shaped by popular culture. Our guest today, Dr. Tevi Troy, author of What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House tells us fun and informative little-known anecdotes about everyone from George Washington to Donald Trump, revealing how each one has woven popular culture into different aspects of their leadership. In this episode we learn The literary works that shaped the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. Why Abraham Lincoln’s love of theater prompted him to ignore advice from advisors the night of his assassination. That voracious reader Teddy Roosevelt viewed books as job training and didn’t hesitate to read at parties. That Dwight D. Eisenhower loved Westerns so much that his staff struggled to keep him in supply. How Saturday Night Live irrevocably branded Gerald Ford as a klutz, contributing to his 1976 defeat. How Ronald Reagan identified the unifying role of film and often used movie quotes to rouse support. Why Barack Obama used celebrity endorsements to sell his policies to the American people. Tevi is not only a historian of U.S. politics. He was also a high-level player. In 2007 he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government, with a budget of $716 billion and over 67,000 employees. Basically, he controlled Medicaid and Medicaid. In light of his experience Tevi has all sorts of fascinating stories about how the George W. Bush White House used history to dictate policy—in one instance all of Bush's advisors were requried to read a book on the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic to develop public policy against disease outbreaks. In that position, he oversaw all operations, including Medicare, Medicaid, public health RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Tevi Troy's Website What Jefferson Read, Obama Watched, and Ike Tweeted Tevi on Twitter   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes from Melanie Padon: When did people start using last names and why? How did they come up with them? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes to us from Peter Swanson. My question is what is the history of "salting the earth" after a military victory. How would an army in the ancient world have transported tons and tons and tons of salt and spread it everywhere? Isn't that a waste of time? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's question comes to us courtesy of Brandon. Here's his question: This is Brandon Wall, and I'm wondering what would have happened if Nixon beat JFK in the 1960 presidential election. How would the world be looking these days, for instance, if Nixon had handled the Cuban missile crisis instead? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more. TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or StitcherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.