Getting Hammered®

In this episode, Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus cover a wide range of current events, including domestic coverage of a terrorist attack in New York City, as well as updates on Iran and the Strait or Hormuz. Plus, Noem is out and we need to speculate a little and is Talarico the Christian Democrat who will turn Texas blue? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A truly astonishing feat, which becomes a turning point in Boston and in the entire war. Tune in for this ruse and how it goes down, causing British Gen. Howe to reportedly remark (although it is not attributed in a primary document, so let's attribute it to very cool legend): "The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month." Learn more about your ad choices....

In this episode, Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus discuss the recent military strikes against Iran, exploring the intelligence and strategy behind the operation, the rationale for the strikes, and the varied domestic and international reactions. They also analyze media coverage and public perception of the events, concluding with thoughts on the future implications for US-Iran relations and Americ...

This is fascinating! Abigail Adams begins a letter to John Adams in Philadelphia that she won't finish until eight days later on March 10. Why? Because she is continually interrupted by bombing in nearby Boston, which unbeknownst to her is the beginning of the consequential taking of Dorchester Heights by the Colonial Army. She also talks about attacks on Adams' reputation, the trouble some friend...

Gold Medals, Medals of Freedom, Medals of Honor, a reunion of a Venezuelan political prisoner with his niece, Ilhan Omar yelling at Trump! This show had everything. Also, Abigail Spanberger spoke. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You'll remember Washington's War Council rejected a plan to attaack Boston in mid-February, instead telling Washington to put cannons up on Dorchester Heights. This is a contingency attack plan written by those same generals, should the British attack Dorchester Heights. They didn't feel great about its potential for success, and luckily, things turn out differently on the high ground around Bosto...

In this episode of 'Getting Hammered', hosts Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus discuss Olympic highlights, the libs and journos who are trying to ruin them, personal parenting challenges, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. They also cover Gavin Newsom's public persona and AOC's emo responses to criticism of her Munich performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

On Feb. 23, 1776, John Adams offered resolutions in the Continental Congress with the intent of boosting domestic production of saltpeter, a main ingredient in gunpowder, and gunpowder mills. Domestic production never really took off during the war, only accounting for a small percentage of total gunpowder. Instead, the colonies imported or smuggled supplies in from the French and the West Indies....

I chuckled at this, from planter and pamphleteer Landon Carter's diary and letters, which describe his very critical thoughts on "Common Sense" and his relief that Gen. Lee had not written it. He also recounts trying to get his grandson a slot in the army and how that ends embarrassingly for him and the grandson thanks to the young man's mother's breakdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

On Feb. 19, 1776, Ben Franklin wrote to Gen. Charles Lee, an admirer of Thomas Paine's to connect the two. Just a month after its publication, Paine's 47-page pamphlet is making waves all over the colonies. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0214 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Feb. 18, 1776, John Adams writes to Abigail and confides in her about a delicate diplomatic mission to Canada. He throws a little shade at the Catholic leadership in Canada and Southerners and admires his wife's mastery of the French language. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-01-02-0229 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Mary Katharine Hamm and Vic Matus discuss sexual harassment training and AOC, and somewhat surprisingly, the two are not related. They delve into the recent Munich Security Conference, highlighting key speeches and the responses from various political figures. The conversation also touches on the ongoing redistricting controversy in Virginia and the implications of new laws on rep...

Written in John Adams' hand, these notes from the Continental Congress catalogue the debate over whether to do trade with foreign entities. The colonies needs supplies, but engaging with foreign countries while at war with Great Britain creeps pretty close to acting like a country, not a colony. Hence, the debate. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/01-02-02-0006-0002-0001 Learn more abo...

At a meeting of his war councilF eb, 16, 1776,, George Washingon suggests a complex, amphibious assault on Boston on frozen waterways, but the council says "nope." What they decide instead will change the course of the war and the fight for America's freedom. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0229 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Feb. 12, 1776, the journals of the Continental Congress reveal that Major Gen. Lee is very worried about New York and that troops should be sent form Pennsylvania and New Jersey to aid him. The Congress also works on distribution of salt peter for the purposes of making gunpowder and blankets for a batallion. John Hancock urges Pennsylvania Delegate John Dickinson to get to Congress on time to...

n February of 1776, John Adams has taken one of many hard trips from Braintree, Mass. to Philadelphia to rejoin the Continental Congress. In this short letter to his wife, he tells of his travels, his worries, and his hopes for the colonies and their future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While George Washington was doing military work, a small group of leaders including Ben Franklin and John Jay were on the Committee of Secret Correspondence, which did diplomatic and foreign intelligence work in the service of the American cause. In this missive, Ben Franklin recaps the failed Canada campaign Washington referenced to John Hancock and offers an account of a Canadian visitor to Cong...

On Feb. 9. 1776, George Washington sounds like he's had it up to here with the short deployments of Continental Army soldiers. Americans had philosophical reasons for keeping citizen soldiers on short time, viewing a standing army with suspicion. But in this correspondence, Washington politely but insistently lays out the many problems he's had with them. The Continental Army would later move to 1...

A weekend read of Washington's General Orders from Cambridge on Feb. 7, 1776. He is establishing pay for the Army's chaplains at $33.50 per month and advising officers how to create and distribute ammo. Washington also mentions Connecticut chaplain Abiel Leonard, who volunteered in 1775 to serve as one of a handful of chaplains before the army was even established as the Continental Army. Leonard...

I’ve been looking for a way to celebrate America 250 as this year goes by and I don’t want it to be relegated to July 4th or certain events. So, I thought maybe I would search for primary documents, written for or by the Founding Fathers (and a surrounding cast of historical characters) for as many of the days of the year as I can. Since I’m starting in February, I think it’s fitting that my searc...

Hosts Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus talk the Washington Auto show and generational shifts in car culture, plus their first cars! They delve into the Democratic drama of the Texas Senate race and the influence of social media on politics. The conversation also touches on the Grammys, the Kennedy Center's controversies, city dysfunction with school closures and trash heaps, and the Loudoun County...

In this episode of Getting Hammered, hosts Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus discuss the recent winter weather affecting much of the country, snow days and the challenges of parenting during storms. They share travel experiences, with a special confrontation for MK on the West Coast. In the news, the Minnesota fallout surrounding immigration enforcement , the dynamics of the Trump administration, a...

In this episode of "Getting Hammered," hosts Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus dive into a variety of topics. Vic shares his observations from a journalism conference in Palm Beach, highlighting the peculiarities of the local dog-walking culture and the challenges of parenting teenagers left home alone. The conversation then shifts to current events, including the implications of recent ICE-related...

In this episode of Getting Hammered, Mary Katharine Ham and Jenna Lee make plans for their husband's birthdays next year before diving into the Supreme Court case regarding transgender athletes in women's sports, the investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, the recent ICE shooting incident in Minneapolis, and how it's hard to take a few moments in the New Media to evaluate news st...