The Road to Now

With tariffs, the Enemy Alien Act, and politically driven calls for judicial impeachment in the headlines, Ben & Bob decided to sit down and put these developments in historic context. We’ve never been so disappointed to have such a great reason to discuss the history we love!   Some recommended readings: The US Constitution Scott Bomboy, “A Brief History of the Constitution and Tariffs,” National Constitution Center, Feb. 07, 2025 Lindsay Chervinsky, “Why the Last Supreme Court Impeachment was The Last (So Far),” The Bulwark, Sept. 02, 2022. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Libertarianism has had a tremendous influence on American politics, but according to Andrew Koppelman, its most prominent adherents have stripped libertarian philosophy of its more humane intentions. In this episode, Andrew joins Bob and Ben for a discussion about his book, Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed (St. Martin’s Press, 2022) and why he contends that libertarian philosophers such as Friedrich Hayek have been stripped of their original intent by those who have ulterior motives.   Dr. Andrew Koppelman is John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. You can learn more about his work at AndrewKoppelman.com   This is a rebroadcast of RTN #249 which originally aired on October 10, 2022. This version was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Come see us May 29th at the Hamilton Live in DC! Click here for tickets.   Kathryn Olivarius joins Bob & Ben to explain the powerful role that Yellow Fever played in shaping all aspects of life in New Orleans during the 19th century. Kathryn is Associate Professor of History at Stanford University and the authorNecropolis: Disease, Power & Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom, (Harvard University Press, 2022).   This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Our next live show is in Washington, DC on May 29! Click here for tickets.   Anne Tindall is Special Council at the non-partisan group Protect Democracy, where she works to ensure that elections are free and fair, to prevent political violence, and to secure accountability for abuses of power at the federal and state level. In this episode she joins us to talk about the still unsettled results of North Carolina’s Supreme Court election from November, and Republican Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to convince the courts to throw out sixty thousand ballots in a race where his challenger, incumbent Allison Riggs, won by just 734 votes. Anne explains what makes this case unique in the history of American elections and why it may set a dangerous precedent that could weaken voting rights for citizens across the country regardless of political party.   Click here to read the Electoral Integrity Project data that Anna discussed in this episode.   This conversation was recorded on February 27, 2025. Gary Fletcher edited this episode.

Just announced: The next Road to Now Live is May 29 at The Hamilton Live in Washington, DC! Click here to get your tickets!   Between 1933 and 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps enlisted more than three million young men in a project that planted two billion trees, slowed soil erosion on forty million acres of farmland, and enjoyed support across political and geographic divides. In this episode we talk with Neil Maher, author of Nature’s New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement (Oxford University Press, 2008) about how the CCC helped solidify FDR’s New Deal and spread the seeds of environmental activism for generations to come.   Dr. Neil Maher is a Professor of History and Master Teacher in the Federated History Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University-Newark. He is also the author of Apollo in the Age of Aquarius (Harvard University Press, 2017). You can find out more about his work at NeilMaher.com.     This is a rebroadcast of episode #274 which aired as The Original Green New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps with Neil Mahr on May 29, 2023. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers’ is a historian whose work has shed new light on the roles that women played in American slavery. In this episode, she joins Ben and Bob to share some of the significant findings of her work, the sources she’s used to learn more about enslaved people and female slaveowners, and her new project, which reorients our understanding of the British Atlantic slave trade by centering the story on the lives of both free and captive women. Dr. Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers is Associate Professor of History at the University California, Berkeley and the author of the award-winning book They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South (Yale University Press, 2019). She is also one of the recipients of the 2023 Dan David Prize, which recognizes outstanding scholarship that illuminates the past and seeks to anchor public discourse in a deeper understanding of history.   This episode was originally aired as episode #270 on April 24, 2023. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer. 

What does it mean to be different? This is the question Bob explores with author and President of the Word of South book and music festival, Mark Mustian, as they discuss his new historical-fiction novel, "The Boy with Wings." Set against the backdrop of a traveling freak show in the American South during the 1930s, the narrative follows the poignant journey of Johnny Cruel, a young man born with a distinctive birthmark that renders him an outcast. Historical fiction is a rarity on The Road to Now, so this is a truly special episode that you do not want to miss. Bob and Mark also discuss the Word of South book and music festival held every April in Tallahassee, Florida.   Boy with Wings is out on March 15 from Köehler Books- click here for links to (pre)order your copy.   This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.

This week, we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations! During a past trip to Denver, Bob and Ben had the privilege of sitting down with journalist and historian Dick Kreck at the historic Brown Palace Hotel to discuss the fascinating history of Denver and its development in the 19th and early 20th centuries. With more than four decades of experience as a reporter for The San Francisco Examiner, The LA Times, and The Denver Post, Kreck has also published numerous books on the history of Colorado and the American West. In this episode, he shares his incredible insights on western migration, the construction of the transcontinental railroad, and how the Denver of today reflects its storied past. We are reairing this episode in memory of Dick Kreck, who passed away on December 4, 2024. You can read his obituary here.    

This week, we welcome back to the program the Director of the Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at Winthrop University, Dr. Scott Huffmon. We usually have Dr. Huffmon on to discuss the prestigious Winthrop Poll, known as the most reliable and comprehensive poll regarding issues and politics in South Carolina. Today, however, Dr. Huffmon joins us to discuss a fascinating class he teaches: Politics and Society in Middle Earth: The Lord of the Rings. What can Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy, with its themes of alliances and rivalries between individuals from different races, teach us about society and politics in our own time? Let’s find out. You can follow Dr. Huffmon on X at @HuffmonPolitics.   This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher. 

Partisanship. What is it good for? Most people these days would say, “Absolutely nothing.” Julian Zelizer might reply, “Not so fast.” This week on the Road to Now we welcome backt to the show the Malcom Stevenson Forbes Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and CNN Political Analyst, Julian Zelizer to discuss his new book, In Defense of Partisanship. Zelizer argues that partisanship is not inherently detrimental to democracy. Instead, he contends that a healthy and vibrant political system requires robust and principled parties that clearly articulate their policy positions and engage in spirited debate. Through historical examples and contemporary analysis, Zelizer illustrates how partisanship has historically facilitated significant political and social advancements. Zelizer posits that today we are dealing with the negative effects of hyper partisanship, and that rather than seeking to eliminate partisanship altogether, efforts should be made to foster a political environment where constructive partisanship thrives. This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.