Ohio V. The World

Mary Church Terrell was born in 1863 the year of the Emancipation Proclamation and died months after the landmark Brown v. the Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954. Over four generations, she was involved in fighting for African American rights on the front lines. A truly remarkable life. Her story is too little told but there's so much to get to. We're joined by four guests to discus...

We're back from summer break for the 2nd half of Season 7! We're locked and loaded over the skies of Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for the biggest and most consequential battle in US Naval history: the Battle of Midway. Fought by air and sea on June 4, 1942, the United States defeated Imperial Japan and turned the tide of World War II forever. We explore the key contribution by...

Alex dives into the biggest medical experiment of the 20th Century: the development of the polio vaccines and the story of rivalry between its creators, Drs. Albert Sabin and Jonas Salk. A disease that was terrorizing parents all over the United States, the polio virus changed American medical history. We sit down with four amazing medical experts to discuss the polio crusade and its lessons for o...

An episode we've been waiting to do for a long while, Alex examines the consequential life of Cincinnati's own, Salmon P. Chase. Chase, the namesake for Chase Bank, served as a Senator and Governor from Ohio, the Secretary of the Treasury during the Lincoln Administration and the 6th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. We sit down with award-winning historian and biographer Walter St...

Friend of the show, Vince Tornero, joins the show to preview the 2nd Season of his Evergreen Podcast Network show PROHFILES: "The Wrath of the Buzzard." Season two (6 episodes) will be titled “THE WRATH OF THE BUZZARD” and will document the meteoric rise and fall of 100.7 WMMS - the iconic Cleveland FM rock station that proved to be one of the most influential radio stations of all time. Alex sits...

When the Beatles arrived on US soil in February 1964 the music world and social norms in this country changed forever. And nowhere did Beatlemania have more of an effect than on the Baby Boomers in the Buckeye State. By analyzing their touring years in the States (1964-66) and their four Ohio live shows we see just how crazy it was to be in the Fab Four. In Episode 3, "Ohio v. the Beatles," Alex s...

In 1989, the United States went to war with Panama and their military dictator, Manuel Noriega in what is called Operation Just Cause. In "Ohio v. Panama" Alex explores the complex history between the US and the isthmus of Panama since the the country's birth in 1903. This Memorial Day we will honor the legacy of PFC James Markwell (1968-1989), the fallen Army Ranger from Cincinnati, Ohio. We spea...

In the Season 7 premiere episode, Alex tells the story of George Koval, the Manhattan Project spy that got away. We’re joined by author Ann Hagedorn to discuss her excellent book, Sleeper Agent (Simon & Schuster, 2021) about Koval’s journey from normal Midwestern kid to celebrated Russian spy that brought the atom bomb to the Soviet Union. Click the link below to purchase Sleeper Agent.  We detail...

It's the Season 6 Finale and we saved our best for last. Powered by interviews from a proposed documentary we give an oral history of the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night in Cleveland, Ohio on June 4, 1974. We hear from the people who were there that muggy night on Lake Erie when a baseball game became a beer-fueled riot. Special thanks to our friends John and Seth from Grey Lodge Productions for shar...

In the penultimate episode of Season 6 Alex dives into the history of America's First War on Terror against a new white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan in the 1870s. We study the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) following the Civil War and the ultimate failure to reconcile the country and the races. Charles Lane, author and Washington Post columnist and editorial board member, joins the show to...

In the wake of the chaotic end to the War in Afghanistan, Alex & Co. revisit America's first Asian counterinsurgency war, the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). America's quest for empire is met with stiff resistance on the Philippine Islands as well as on the homefront. We follow the bloody conflict and political upheaval through the decisions and careers of President William McKinley of Canton...

Alex travels to the Sunshine State to discover the story of Henry Flagler, the Cleveland native, known as "the Father of Modern Florida." We analyze Flagler's career at Standard Oil and his close relationship with John D. Rockefeller during their years building the oil giant in Cleveland, Ohio. We follow Flagler's second act as a railroad tycoon and developer in cities like St. Augustine, Palm Bea...

In Part 2 of a 2-part episode, Alex concludes the fascinating saga of the American Comandante, William Alexander Morgan of Toledo, Ohio and how his central role in the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath changed world history. If you haven't listened to Part One from last week go back and do that, we'll wait...ok, good, you're caught up. We are joined again by author and journalist Michael Sallah t...

In Part 1 of a 2-part episode, Alex reveals the fascinating story of the American Comandante, William Alexander Morgan of Toledo, Ohio and how his unlikely service in the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s changed world history. We look at the story of the Cuban Revolution of Fidel Castro on the whole and the improbable victory of the Cuban rebels over the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. This story...

The Japanese American incarceration during World War II is a policy decision that will live in infamy. Alex analyzes why did FDR and the American government forcible remove 120,000 Japanese Americans to 10 camps across the American West? We speak with three experts about this complicated and fateful decision that remains a stain on US history. We sit down with Shirley Ann Higuchi, the Chair of the...

Alex tells the story of the most famous lawyer in American history, Clarence Darrow. We welcome an all-star cast of guests to discuss the sterling career of "the Attorney for the Damned." We go through Darrow's life and legal career and how the issues he tackled 100 years ago are still problems in modern America. Alex looks at Darrow's three most famous cases in depth to reveal why many still cons...

Alex speaks with four experts on the black Civil War experience from emancipation to the post-war years. We're celebrating Juneteenth with a comprehensive look at the history of the battles, the struggles and the ultimate triumph of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), as they were known during the Civil War. From the battle of Fort Wagner to the disaster of the Battle of the Crater and the Un...

Treason has been a popular topic in 2021 and Alex looks at two of the most infamous treason trials in American History w/Ohio connections: the Aaron Burr Conspiracy and the trial of Axis Sally. We sit down with one of our favorite historians, David O. Stewart, to discuss the long forgotten Burr Conspiracy of 1806-07. David sharers insight into Burr's life after he shoots and kills Alexander Hamilt...

Lions, tigers and bears...oh my! Alex travels to Eastern Ohio and the city of Zanesville to tell the story of one of the craziest and most dangerous events in Ohio history: the Zanesville Zoo Escape. When Terry Thompson released 50 of the world's most exotic and deadly animals on his hometown and then took his own life in October 2011. Alex relives the events of that surreal night with writers and...

In Episode 2 of Season 6, Alex analyzes the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism's effect on the country and Ohio during the 2nd Red Scare of the 1950s. We study how America's love affair with bullies and how a paranoid nation briefly lost its way during the early years of the Cold War. We're joined by best selling author Larry Tye to discuss his book Demagogue, the definitive...

We're back! In the Season 6 premiere episode Alex looks at the extraordinary life of Akron, Ohio native NASA astronaut, Judy Resnik. We analyze the causes behind her tragic death in the Challenger Disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. On this 35th anniversary we take a fresh look at Judy's career and NASA's role in the loss of Challenger. Our guests include Helene Norin, Judy's cousin to discuss the Resnik f...

Bonus Episode: Ohio v the Presidency. Alex sits down with Vince Tornero the host of “This is Wessler Media” on 610am WTVN in Columbus, Ohio. Alex discusses Ohio’s 8 presidents and how their terms in office show that history really does repeat itself. This interview aired back on October 31, 2020 and serves as a great recap for Season 5 on Ohio and the Presidency. Special thanks to Vince and the te...

Episode 13: “William Howard Taft v. the World”. The Season 5 finale is here and we end our season on Ohio and the Presidency in a big way. Alex travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to bring you the story of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States. The only person to be the Chief Executive and the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. We examine why Taft is an overlooked and underrated...

Episode 12: Ohio v. First Ladies. Alex travels to Canton to the National First Ladies and Historic Site to speak with President and CEO Jennifer Highfield about Ohio’s 1st Ladies. We look at all 8 spouses of Ohio’s presidents and the evolution of the role of the First Lady. Visit the museum and library at www.firstladies.org in downtown Canton. Jennie shares the stories of Canton’s own Ida Saxton...

Episode 11: Ohio v Debates. It’s presidential debate season! As Trump and Biden prepare to square off this week in Cleveland at the 1st presidential debate of 2020, Alex looks back at the top 5 debates in presidential (and VP) debate history. We also look at the two previous debates that have taken place in the Buckeye State prior to Trump-Biden, Part 1. We are joined by author, professor and deba...