Ohio V. The World

Episode 10: Benjamin Harrison v. the World. Alex goes to 4 different areas of the country to tell the story of one of America’s most forgotten Presidents, Benjamin Harrison. Our 23rd President was raised and educated in Ohio before moving to Indianapolis in his 20s and is claimed by both states. We discover that Harrison was a strong advocate for African American equality, an early environmentalis...

Episode 9: “Warren G. Harding v. the World”. Alex gives the 29th President, Warren G. Harding, a thorough reevalutation 100 years after his election. You might be surprised with what he found. Harding, from Marion, OH, is always ranked near the bottom of the presidential rankings. After our research, we have to ask why? There’s scandals but there’s also some huge successes. We visit Harding’s home...

Episode 8: “Ohio v. Conventions”. Alex visits the convention hall floor and the smoke-filled rooms of America’s past political conventions in Ohio. Political conventions are going to look very different in 2020 but usually they’re the Super Bowl for political junkies. We breakdown all six major party political conventions that have taken place in Ohio in American history. We focus on the first con...

Episode 7: Ohio v. the Contenders. Alex catches “presidential fever” with 4 Ohioans who attempted to capture the highest office in the land. We sit down with the co-creators of “1865”, Steven Walters and Erik Archilla, to discuss the presidency and impeachment of Andrew Johnson. We discuss their 1865 Podcast, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the near presidency of Ohioan Benjamin Wade. Listen...

Episode 6: Rutherford B. Hayes v. the World. Alex and his guests take a deep dive on Central Ohio’s only President and the most controversial election in US history. It’s time to talk some Rutherford B. Hayes, our 19th President (1877-1881). We visit the Hayes Presidential Museum & Library in Fremont, Ohio to discuss Rud’s career and his childhood in Delaware, Ohio. From Civil War general to Congr...

Episode 5: William Henry Harrison v. The World. Alex jumps in the way, way back machine to the Campaign of 1840 to tell the story of the election of Ohio’s 1st President, William Henry Harrison. We learn why 1840 is truly the first modern presidential campaign from journalist and historian, Ron Shafer, as he walks us through the exciting campaign of “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Go buy Ron’s great b...

EPISODE 4: “OHIO v. THE CAMPAIGN”. Alex takes a break from Ohio’s presidents to go on the campaign trail through the history of presidential elections in the Buckeye State. We focus on the Ohio campaigns of four famous chief executives: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama. We visit the Ohio Statehouse to talk with Chris Matheney, the historic site manager of the Ohio...

Episode 3: James Garfield v. the World. Alex tells a story he’s waited years to share, the improbable rise and tragic death of our 20th President, Cleveland’s own James Garfield. We’re joined by one of Alex’s favorite authors and historians, the incomparable Candice Millard. Millard, the Ohio native, is the author of the award-winning book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and t...

Episode 2: Ulysses S. Grant v. the World. Alex is back with the story of one of the most famous Ohioans of all time, our 18th President Ulysses S. Grant of Georgetown, Ohio. We explain why Grant, the hero of the Civil War, is one of America’s most underrated Presidents. In fact no President is rising faster in 21st Century presidential rankings than US Grant. Our episode will focus on Grant’s yout...

EP. 1: William McKinley v. the World (Part 2). Thanks for listening to the exciting conclusion of our Season 5 premiere. We discuss with our guests McKinley’s relationship with Theodore Roosevelt, the “Splendid Little War” known as the Spanish American War, the economic boom of the McKinley years and his tragic assassination in Buffalo, NY in 1901. We are joined in Part One by Robert Merry, author...

EP. 1: William McKinley v. the World (Part 1). We’re back and ready to get presidential in 2020. We kickoff Season 5 with a two-part episode on our 25th President, William McKinley from Canton, OH. Part One examines McKinley’s childhood in NE Ohio, Civil War service (he was the final Civil War vet to be POTUS), rise in Ohio and national politics and his election to the White House in 1896 against...

Season 5 Preview: We’ll preview Season 5 of Ohio v. the World with clips and sneak peaks of all 13 episodes for our election year season. We’re calling Season 5: “Ohio v. the Presidency.” From President Monroe to President Trump we’ll relive all the famous presidents and presidential moments from the history of the Buckeye State. Episode 1: William McKinley v. the World will premiere on Sunday May...

Episode 12: Ohio v. Segregation (Tuskegee Airmen). Our Season 4 finale celebrates Black History Month 2020 by studying the trailblazing Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Alex meets with Dr. Anthony Milburn and Warren Mott to discuss the segregation of the US military and the courage of the “Red Tails” as well as their years in the Buckeye State following the war. We learn how the Tuskegee Airmen’s...

Episode 11: “Ohio v. Water” (Mark Hanna). Alex discovers the important life and even more important death of Cleveland’s Mark Hanna. The political kingmaker’s rise to the top of American politics is analyzed with Case Western Reserve Univ. professor, John Grabowski. We also discuss the dangerous history of drinking water in the United States and how Hanna’s death in 1904 led to a comprehensive cha...

Episode 10: “Ohio v. the Copperheads” (Clement Vallandigham). Alex talks with US Air Force Academy Professor of History, Jennifer Weber, about the copperhead political movement in the North during the Civil War. We travel back to the homefront in Ohio and the Midwest during the war and find out millions of Americans were against the war effort and President Lincoln. We discuss the life of leading...

Episode 9: “Ohio v. Annexation” (Hawaii). Mele kalikimaka and happy holidays! Alex journeys to the Aloha State to discover the story of the overthrow of the Hawaii Kingdom in the 1890s by a group of mostly American businessmen. We sit down with Australian author and historian, Stephen Dando-Collins, to discuss his book Taking Hawaii: How 13 Honolulu Businessmen Overthrew the Queen of Hawaii in 189...

Episode 8: “Ohio v. Organized Crime” (Black Hand Society). Alex meets up with co-authors William Oldfield and Victoria Bruce to discuss the first major Italian organized crime ring and their subsequent trial. This little-known piece of Ohio and American history is the story behind Bill and Vicki’s hit book Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society (Simon & Schuster, 2018). Buy your copy of thi...

Episode 7: “Ohio v. Abolitionists” (John Brown/Harriet Beecher Stowe): Alex travels to Hudson, OH, Cincinnati and Harpers Ferry, WV in this in depth investigation of two of U.S.’s most most famous abolitionists, John Brown and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The abolition movement to end slavery in the mid-19th Century was the most important political and social movement of its time. We travel back to the...

EPISODE 6: "Ohio v. War Crimes” (John Demjanjuk). Alex delves into the mystery of who is John Demjanjuk? Is he the kindly Cleveland grandpa that’s a victim of mistaken identity? Or is he the infamous and sadistic Nazi death camp guard, Ivan the Terrible? Or something else entirely... Our guest is author and professor Lawrence Douglas who helps us understand this convoluted and disturbing story. Do...

Episode 5: “Ohio v. Invention” (Garrett Morgan). Alex travels to Cleveland to meet with Sandra Morgan, the granddaughter of one of most important inventors in U.S. history, Garrett A. Morgan. We discuss his prolific ability to invent things like: the modern traffic light, hair relaxer and the gas mask. Sandra talks about her grandpa, the son of Kentucky slaves, and his journey to overcome racism a...

Ep. 4: “Jerrie Mock v. the World”. Alex travels to Newark, Ohio to discover the little known story of hometown girl and record-setting pilot, Jerrie Mock. Mock was the first female to ever fly solo around the world in 1964. We sit down with Mock’s sister, Susan Reid, and publisher Wendy Hollinger and pilot Dale Ratcliff to discuss Jerrie’s life and her epic journey, Known as “the Flying Housewife”...

Episode 3: “Ohio v. Opioids” Alex discusses the history of the opioid crisis with Ohio University professors, Berkeley Franz and Daniel Skinner. We discuss the causes and effects of the drug epidemic that has ravaged Ohio. From the late 1990s to present some 400,000 Americans have died as a result of a drug overdose and no state has suffered more than the Buckeye State. Berkeley and Daniel discuss...

Episode 2: “John Glenn v. the World” Alex interviews 4 guests about one of the greatest Ohioans of all-time, Senator John Glenn from New Concord, Ohio. From the Great Depression, to World War II, the Korean War, the Space Race, a serious run for the presidency in 1984, nearly a quarter of a century in the U.S. Senate, and a return to space in the 1990s we follow the life of the amazing Col. John G...

Season 4, Episode 1: “Ohio v. Watergate” (John Dean). We’re back for a new season of Ohio history with two great guests. Alex is joined by author and former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean and author/attorney Jim Robenalt to discuss the greatest political scandal in 20th Century America: Watergate. We explain the Watergate scandal to a new generation with the man at the center of the controver...

Episode 15: “Ohio v. The Wild West” (George Custer/Annie Oakley). Alex travels back to the Wild West in the Season 3 Finale. We talk about the controversial “Boy General” George Armstrong Custer from New Rumley, Ohio and “Little Miss Sure Shot” Annie Oakley of Darke County, Ohio. Two of the biggest celebrities of the 19th Century. Attorney Jason Lucas comes on to talk about Custer’s youth in New R...