Getting Hammered®

Vic is on Spring Break this week, so Kelly and MK discuss the daring Iran rescue, how in the world it's possible for people to be mad at it, growing polarization over even the best news, how we are Victor Glover fan girls and Artemis is also daring and astounding. Trump is on his holiday mean tweets again, California is defrauding us, and we sell Girl Scout cookies. Which one of us is better at it...

In this letter from Abigail to John, you can tell his absence is taking a toll on her. She tells of all the work she has to do on the farm, hoping to prove herself as a "farmeress" as he proves himself a statesman. She sounds a little nervous and sad as she wishes in vain for news of when he might come home. Boston is mourning its dead after the Brits have left town and she tells of a funeral she...

On this Spring Break edition of Getting Hammered, Vic and MK finally try the Big Arch, and because they didn't want it to get cold, they do that first and talk about burgers for half the show! After that, Iran, #NoKings, and polyamory. Mixed bag today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this famous letter, Abigail is still annoyed that John doesn't write often enough or come home. She is still a passionate advocate for liberty and impatient for a declaration. She is a serious critic of slaveholders in Virginia, wondering openly if they can possibly really be devoted to the cause of liberty when they deprive their fellow man of theirs. She also gives her thoughts on how the new...

Kelly Maher guest-hosts with Mary Katharine Ham today, tells us about her new adventure in auctioneering, and we talk about all the people who don't understand capitalism— Kathy Hochul, Hasan Piker, Abigail Spanberger, D.C. government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this letter to his friend, Horatio Gates, Adams touches on Boston and whether the Brits are really gone, talks about a recent resolution allowing privateers to take British boats, and then the challenges of forming a Republic of 13 colonies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy the details as Washington realizes he has to impress upon his soldiers how to act once they're in Boston. This is a very explicit effort to make sure the uncomfortable lines between Boston inhabitants who are leftover royalists, patriot residents, possible spies, and Continental soldiers are observed with as little drama as possible, and all conflict dealt with in legal avenues. Learn more a...

Gen. George Washington seems to let himself be happy in this letter to Hancock about having cleared the British army out of Boston, which they find in fairly good condition after 11 months of siege and occupation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode , Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus cover the Oscars, the bright spots and the political commentary, Iran strikes and "taking Cuba", jihadist attacks in the U.S., one of which exemplifies the uselessness of gun control laws, and the continuing leftward lurch of the state of Virginia under alleged moderate Abigail Spanberger. Plus, Paul Ehrlich critique! Learn more about your ad choi...

Today we meet Timothy Newell, a Boston selectman who has been in Boston the entirety of the siege. As one of just a few members of civilian government left in the city, he has negotiated with Gen. Howe and British troops over treatment of citizens in the city. He is a patriot, but was likely too old to fight, so served the cause in a different way. While there, he wrote a colorful and thorough acc...

Two views on the Revolution today, one from John Adams' diary, discussing a resolution to remove arms from disaffected colonists, who did not want to fight for America. Adams wanted the resolution to go further, urging colonists to take up all powers of government, repudiating the Crown's authority, but he settled for the one presented. It was a big escalation, and enforced spottily across the 13...

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