The Preamble

Today in our series, How Women Won WWII, let’s head to Great Britain and learn about a military organization that recruited women into the war effort all across the country. Women volunteered in great numbers and, throughout the war, thousands of women participated. You might even call them…a flock. Hosted by: Sharon McMahon Executive Producer: Heather Jackson Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder Written...

Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, we talk about how the United States successfully produced and detonated the first atomic bomb. That success happened through a combination of random events and intricately planned schemes that fed into the speeding train that was atomic technology. The U.S. pops up along those tracks, but the spark that would lead to the bomb began across the Atlantic. Ho...

In today's episode, let’s talk about a person–a larger than life woman–who utilized her fame and charm to secretly gather intel for the Allies during World War II. She put herself in danger, fought for freedom, saved countless lives… and she did it all while she shimmied her way across Europe in tiny sequined costumes. Hosted by: Sharon McMahon Executive Producer: Heather Jackson Audio Producer: J...

Today, on How Women Won WWII, we talk about The Manhattan Project. The top-secret program ran for three war-filled years and employed over 120 thousand people. Most of those people had no idea that they were working on one of the most powerful projects of all time: creating nuclear weapons. Hosted by: Sharon McMahon Executive Producer: Heather Jackson Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder Written and resea...

Welcome to our new series, How Women Won World War II. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the incredibly varied and complex roles women stepped into during World War II. No, they weren’t GIs. They didn’t land at the beach on Normandy on D-Day, or face military combat, but without a doubt, the roles they performed shaped the way the war was both fought and won. Hosted by: Sharon McMahon Executi...

On today’s episode, Sharon talks about the importance of state legislatures with Melissa Walker, an expert from The States Project. Melissa, and The States Project, aims to educate the public on the very real powers that our governing state bodies hold. Don’t like a new law in your state? Don’t blame your senator, hold your state legislators accountable. And the same goes for the reverse: if you w...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with award-winning journalist Rebecca Nagle. Sharon and Rebecca talk about an important case that SCOTUS will rule on later this spring: Haaland v. Brackeen. Learn about the history of the Indian Child Welfare Act and how the Brackeen case was built. Rebecca uses easy-to-follow language to break down the intricacies of the lawsuit, from its...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks to author and public library advocate, Jermaine Fowler. Jermaine and Sharon talk about the value of seeing history outside of the binary of either unflawed or unredeemable. We, and our children, need access to a well-rounded history that’s free from white-washing or censorship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Today, host Sharon McMahon welcomes back her friend, Carlos Whittaker, to Here’s Where It Gets Interesting. Sharon and Carlos talk about his new book, How to Human . Carlos wants people to pause and think, how do we human (used as a verb!) with intention and goodness? Carlos is a podcast guest favorite, and you'll hear why when you listen in to this conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

On today's episode, Sharon chats with the duo, author Andrew Weiss and illustrator Brian Brown, who are behind the new graphic novel, Accidental Czar , which takes a look at Vladimir Putin's life and his rise to power. As we approach the one year anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Andrew and Brian give insights into why they chose a graphic novel platform to connect the public to a complex hi...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we hear from comedian Adam Conover. Sharon and Adam talk about the intersection of education and comedy. Oftentimes, when we’re ready to laugh, we’re also ready to learn. It’s a philosophy Adam has relied on during his successful career as a comedian who shares interesting facts about the ways the world works. Follow along as the pair talk ab...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon and guest Mark Atwood Lawrence talk about Presidential Libraries. Mark is the director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum situated in Austin, Texas. Mark answers questions about Presidential Libraries: how are they funded, what kinds of documents and artifacts does a Presidential Library preserve and why does it need preserving? Sharon...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with Pulitzer Prize winning author Stacy Schiff about her masterful bestseller, The Revolutionary Samuel Adams . These days, we think of Sam Adams as a face on a beer bottle, but how much do we know about his role in bringing revolution to Colonial America? As Stacy puts it, Adams was playing chess while Britain was playing check...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Professor Matthew Connelly gives us an overview of America’s history with classified information. What does it mean when information is classified? Who decides what information is kept from the public and what’s the process for classification and declassification?  Most importantly, how does government accountability affect the future of our democracy? Ho...

On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with legendary NPR Legal Affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg. Nina wrote a book–not just about her standing dinner dates with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but about the importance of friendships between women. Tune in to hear their conversation about connection, support, and thoughtfulness… and stay for...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with presidential historian Alexis Coe, who talks about her goal as a historian to tell the whole story. We have a tendency to regard many of our U.S. Presidents as heroes, illuminating the ways in which they shaped our nation for the good, that we often gloss over their missteps. Historians piece together facts and details to f...

On today’s special holiday episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’ll learn about how a few of our presidential families have influenced different types of events and customs during the December holiday season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we move Westward. While the politics in Washington D.C. were shaping events throughout the rest of the nation, the same can be said in reverse: what was happening in land far from the capital city influenced much of its politics. Join us today at the border of Mexico and Texas to learn about the tipped dominoes that led the U.S. into our first successful...

On today’s episode, we’re going to move from political power player Sarah Polk to our next first lady: a total frontierswoman who was more comfortable roughing it in the wild with Army soldiers than throwing a society ball in Washington D.C. Come meet Margaret “Peggy” Taylor, and learn about her unusual life traveling to the most remote areas of the nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

Today on here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re going to talk about a person who, by the mid-1800s, was shaping some of the biggest social reform movements to come out of the nation’s Antebellum era. A person who was born with no access and no rights. A person who was born into enslavement, fought his way to freedom, and then worked for a lifetime to ensure that access and equality was given to o...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, you’ll learn five reasons why Sarah Polk is unique in the constellation of America’s First Ladies. Sarah Childress Polk was a political force because she was so good at seeming not to be. Men and women alike found her intelligent and ambitious, but not threatening. Stay tuned to hear how she used this skill to elevate herself and her husband...

Did you know that, in the late 1800s, Americans were drinking three times the amount of alcohol we consume today? On this episode of Here's Where It Gets Interesting, you'll get a crash course in the history of drinking in America. Learn why Whiskey became the most-consumed spirit, which Former president tried to smuggle in 500 bottles of French Wine without paying taxes on them, and how the Women...

Welcome to today's episode of Here's Where It Gets Interesting where we'll talk about a president who had three women perform the official duties of the White House Hostess. John Tyler, often called the “Accidental President”, stepped in when William Henry Harrison died a month into his first term. While his incumbency wasn’t filled with many political gains, he did enter the White House with one...

On this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, let’s take a brief look at the history of some past presidential deaths–how they happened and what happened after. How has the U.S. government responded to the death of our nation’s leaders? Some of the traditions may surprise you. Do you know which president’s death revolutionized the funeral and embalming industry? Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re going to talk about another First Lady who follows the pattern: married to the president, but never lived in the White House. This time, it was our first lady’s husband - the newly elected President William Henry Harrison - who died a month into his presidency, giving her no reason to leave her Ohio home and travel to Washington D.C. Hosted on Acast...