Reckoning with Jason Herbert

In this episode, I’m joined by Cherokee scholar and author Julie Reed to talk about her powerful book Land, Language, and Women: A Cherokee and American Educational History . We explore how Cherokee women have shaped—and continue to sustain—relationships to land, community, and language in the face of colonial violence and dispossession. Reed shows how land is not simply territory, language is not...

There is probably no historian working today more influential in shaping how we think about the way in which humans and animals engage with each other and the environment than Dan Flores. Today, Dan joins in to talk about his epic work, Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History, on the eve of its 10th anniversary release, along with discussions on wolf reintroduction, bison on the plains,...

This week Jason Socrates Bardi joins in to talk about about the rivalry between three mathematicians that defined the fifty years surrounding World War I. About our guest: Jason Socrates Bardi is an award-winning journalist in DC who has written two books about the history of math: The Calculus Wars and The Fifth Postulate. He has published hundreds of articles about modern science and medicine in...

This week Dr. Zackary Graham drops in to talk about one of America's most important environmental stewards--the crawfish--and why their disappearance should worry us all. About our guest: Zack is an evolutionary and behavioral ecologist who studies crayfish diversity. The goal of his research is to untangle the ecological and evolutionary complexities that have led crayfishes to be amongst th...

Egyptologists Dr. Julia Troche and Matt Szafran join in this week to talk about the history behind The Fifth Element and how the anxieties of the 90s are reflected in Luc Besson's campy space opera. About our guests: Dr. Julia Troche is an Egyptologist and Associate Professor of History. In 2022 she was awarded her university's highest teaching award followed by the Missouri Governor&apo...

This week Kate Sheppard and Thomas Lecaque drop in to talk about the greatest romcom of all time. About our guests: Dr. Kathleen Sheppard earned her PhD in History of Science from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. After a post-doctoral teaching fellowship at the American University in Cairo, she arrived at Missouri S&T in the fall of 2011. She teaches mainly survey courses on modern Western...

This week Dr. Rachel Gross drops in to explain the rise of outdoor goods manufacturers and how they sold us on going outside. About our guest: Rachel Gross is an environmental, cultural, and public historian specializing in the history of the modern U.S. Her research and teaching interests center on business, consumer culture, and gender, and she is especially interested in what seemingly ordinary...

This week historians John McManus and Waitman Beorn drop in to talk about the history behind Hamburger Hill, arguably the greatest war film we ever forgot. About our guests: John C. McManus is Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). This professorship is bestowed by the University of Missouri Board of Curat...

This week author Matthew Davis drops in to talk about the complex history and significance of Mount Rushmore, including its ties to the Lakota people, the role of Gutzon Borglum, and the evolving meaning of the monument in contemporary society. We also dig in on the misconceptions surrounding Rushmore, the importance of indigenous perspectives, and the future of the site in terms of stewardship an...

Sahara had everything going for it: a big cast led by ultra hot actors Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, a devoted fan base of author Clive Cussler’s novels, and a big budget courtesy of Disney. And then it came out and flopped. But that doesn’t mean it’s still not fun and it doesn’t mean that we can’t have real  conversations about history. In fact, the movie gives us the perfect opportunity...

This week Max Perry Mueller drops in to talk about Wakara, a Ute man who shaped the modern American West. We also talk about the complexities of Native American identity, the impact of Manifest Destiny, and the ethical considerations in writing Native history. Max also highlights the importance of cultural exchange, environmental stewardship, and the ongoing struggles for repatriation and rematria...

2014's Pompeii is all over the place. Designed to be a Roman apocalypse story with a star making turn by Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington, Pompeii fizzled at the box office. But strangely, it's a phenomenal film to talk about the Roman empire and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Historian and archaeologist Dr. Steven Tuck joins in to talk everything this film gets right and wrong abou...

How did a small town south of Denver emerge as the center of evangelical capitalism after World War II? Historian Dr. William Schultz explains how evangelicals' faith intertwined with a specific interpretation of Americanism, especially during the Cold War era, and how this allowed them to transition from the margins of society to the epicenter of conservative dialogue. About our guest: Willi...

It's a special podcast here at Reckoning. Early American historians Dr. Liz Covart, Dr. Michael Hattem, and Dr. Craig Bruce Smith joined me to live stream Ken Burns' new series The American Revolution and answer questions from people around the world. It's kind of like a Director's Commentary, only if the director was actually four people with degrees in history. This was a bla...

Houston, we have a podcast. Today, Apollo 13 author Jeffrey Kluger drops in to talk about the Apollo missions, what really made it on the film, and his new book, Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story. About our guest: Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large, oversees TIME's science and technology reporting. He has written or co-written more than 40 cover stories for the magazine and re...

Puerto Rico is the oldest colony in the world, something that must change, says Ed Morales. Today Ed drops in to talk about the history of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican diaspora, and how colonialism has hurt the island over the last 500 years. About our guest: Ed Morales is an author and journalist who has written for The Nation , The New York Times , The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and the Gu...

This week historian Oscar Winberg joins in to talk about the origins of All In The Family and how the politics of the 1970s were filtered through television's biggest show. About our guest: Dr. Oscar Winberg is a postdoctoral fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and the John Morton Center for North American Studies at the University of Turku working on modern political history a...

Have you ever wondered what else was happening during the American Revolution? It turns out that the conflict was waged far beyond the shores of North America. Historian Richard Bell joins in today to talk about the unexpected participants in and ramifications of the American Revolution across the globe. About our guest: Richard Bell received his PhD from Harvard University and his BA from the Uni...

Toe pick! If you don't love The Cutting Edge, something is seriously wrong with you. This week Dart Adams and Paul Gagliardi drop in to talk about the history behind the 1992 cult classic and why we love it so damn much.  About our guests: Dart Adams is a historian, journalist and a lecturer from Boston, MA. His work has appeared in various online & print publications including Complex, N...

This week legendary historian Dr. Karen Cox drops in to talk about her life, her work, and advise for historians and students as we enter this new era. About our guest: Karen L. Cox is an award-winning historian and a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.  She is the author of four books, the editor or co-editor of two volumes on southern history and has written numer...

Dr. Craig Bruce Smith and I break down the trailer for the upcoming film, Young George Washington About our guest: Craig Bruce Smith is Professor of History at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington’s Lessons in Ethical...

This week Jelani Cobb drops in to talk about Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, what we don't see onscreen, the promise of Barack Obama, and the rise of Donald Trump. Plus, we preview his new book, Three or More is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here, 2012-Present . This is a powerhouse episode. About our guest: Jelani Cobb joined the Columbia Journalism School faculty in 2016 and became Dean in 2...

Today Dr. Julia Brock joins in to talk about how hunting transformed and was transformed by the Modern South. We talk about dimensions of race, class, and sex and how they informed land stewarship and environmental conservation in the early twentieth century and how those changes affect us today. About our guest: Dr. Julia Brock is Associate Professor of History at the University of Alabama.

This week Dr. John McManus joins in to talk about how WWII films have evolved over time, including our picks for best and worst movies ever made about the war. About our guest: John C. McManus is Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). This professorship is bestowed by the University of Missouri Board of Cu...

This week my friend Kevin Gannon drops in to talk about his career in history education, how education has changed, what to do about A.I., and the role of social media as a scholar. This is a cool conversation with one of the coolest dudes I know. About our guest:  Dr. Kevin Gannon is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) and Professor of History at Queens Uni...