This American President

The history of the world is full of unsung heroes and misunderstood figures who have shaped our lives in profound ways. Their contributions to history are, simply put, underrated. A couple of months ago, the guys from Parthenon Podcast Network (Joshua Cohen, Eyewitness History; Steve Guerra, History of the Papacy; Richard Lim, This American President; and Scott Rank, History Unplugged) discussed w...

Secret Service Agent Clint Hill personally knew and protected First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, as well as five American presidents. He and his wife, author Lisa McCubbin Hill, have just released a new book, My Travels With Mrs. Kennedy, where they share what it was like guarding the most popular American woman in the world. In this episode, we interview Mr. and Mrs. Hill about their book and Mr. Hil...

Zachary Taylor might be America's most forgotten president. Most Americans don't know anything about him. There have been no major biographies on Taylor in decades. He doesn't even have a historic home that you can visit--something his successor Millard Fillmore does have. And yet, Theodore Roosevelt considered him one of America's great presidents. Cameron Coyle, founder of the Zachary Taylor Pro...

Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depres...

This episode is a preview of History of the Papacy by Stephen Guerra, a podcast in the Parthenon Podcast network. Today we begin a two part conversation on the history of Freemasonry during the 19th century. We are joined by author and historian John Dickie to find out who the Freemasons are and why the church and particularly the Catholic Church of the 19th century had so much conflict with Freem...

The Cold War was America's longest and most bizarre war. It was full of unlikely heroes and villains--people like Vasily Arkhipov who, although is little remembered today, literally saved the world from destruction. Commentator/podcaster Bill Whittle joins us on a tour of the personalities and moments that made the Cold War and shows that even Pizza Hut played a role in America's battle against co...

What is it like to travel to the moon? Only 24 human beings in all of history have known the answer to that question. One of those individuals is astronaut Fred Haise. Haise was a test pilot and astronaut during the Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs. Most famously, he was the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 13 mission. As we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the first moon landing, we ar...

It's every history nerd's fantasy: going back in time and personally witnessing a historical event. In this episode, our host Richard Lim and Stephen Guerra (History of the Papacy and Beyond the Big Screen) reveal which events they would choose. STEVE GUERRA http://www.beyondthebigscreen.com/ JOIN PREMIUM Listen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremium FOLLOW US www.linktr.ee/thisamerica...

In the Marvel series Loki, the all-powerful Time Variance Authority preserves the sacred timeline by "pruning" undesirable events from the timeline. In this roundup episode, the hosts of Parthenon Podcasts discuss which events from history they would "prune" to clean up our timeline and why it would be better, the only rule is they can't choose 9/11. Events such as: •The American Civil War •Saddam...

Great speeches can change the course of history. Not every speech, however, ends up getting delivered. Many, by twist of fate or some last-minute decision, end up being lost to history, such as Hillary Clinton's 2016 Election acceptance speech or Emperor Hirohito's speech of remorse following WWII. Thankfully, prominent speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum has published a book to recover these lost document...

In the first two decades of the 20th century, America stood poised to dominate the world economically and geopolitically--a fact underscore by the key role the United States played in World War I. During this time, three Americans rose to prominence, seeking to transform their country so it could cope with the challenges of a new age: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jane Addams. In this ep...

In the aftermath of the Queen's spectacular Platinum Jubilee, some might be asking some questions, such as why the United Kingdom still has a monarchy in the 21st century or what will history say about Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign? In this episode, we interview Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald Strober to answer these questions and discuss their new book book, titled Queen Elizabeth II...

This episode is a preview of History Unplugged hosted by Scott Rank, a podcast in the Parthenon Podcast network. War is assumed to be one of the chief features of human history. Plenty of ancient and modern writers back up this perspective (Plato said that only the dead have seen the end of war; John Steinbeck said all war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal, suggesting it was hard-...

In his first and only Inaugural Address, President George H. W. Bush stressed the importance of strengthening America through community involvement, a balanced budget, and bipartisanship. JOIN PREMIUM Listen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremium FOLLOW US www.linktr.ee/thisamericanpresident CREDITS Host: Richard Lim Producer: Michael Neal Artist: Nip Rogers, www. NipRogers.com See omn...

The Bush family has arguably been the most successful political dynasty in modern American history. But while much has been written about presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, less is known about the women in their family, specifically the matriarch Dorothy Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. In this episode, we interview J. Randy Taraborrelli about his book Grace & Steel: Dorothy, Barbara...

Nine US presidents led America during its struggle against communism, but it would be George H.W Bush who would preside over the final collapse of the Soviet Union. In this episode, we cover how Bush used these circumstances to create a new world order. JOIN PREMIUM Listen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremium FOLLOW US www.linktr.ee/thisamericanpresident CREDITS Written by: Owen Flan...

Just two weeks after the Russian invasion, the world is horrified as it sees images of death and destruction in Ukraine and is left guessing as to what President Vladimir Putin's next move will be. This conflict, however, is just the latest chapter in the long, tumultuous, and shared history between Ukraine and Russia. In this episode, our host sits down with retired U.S. Navy Commander Geoff Webe...

This is a preview of Key Battles of American History hosted by James Early, a podcast in Parthenon Podcasts. As late as the 1860s, Japan was a semi-feudal nation, largely cut off from the rest of the world. But within a few decades, the nation had transformed itself into a major industrial power with one of the world’s most well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led militaries. Between 1905 and 194...

In 1796, George Washington decided to retire after decades of public service, but he was worried for his nation’s future. This episode explores his Farewell Address, which he hoped would guide Americans beyond his own lifetime. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY Did you know that Presidents' Day is officially called Washington's Birthday? The federal holiday was established by an act of Congress in 1879 and wa...

A couple of months ago, the guys from Parthenon Podcast Network (James Early, Key Battles of American History; Steve Guerra, History of the Papacy; Richard Lim, This American President; and Scott Rank, History Unplugged) discussed who they would erase from history of they could. This time, instead of destroying, we are going to do some saving. If you could save one person in history from an untime...

This episode is a preview of Beyond the Big Screen hosted by Steve Guerra, a podcast in Parthenon Podcasts. 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest films ever created. Erik Fogg of the Reconsider Podcast and Steve dive into this great movie to try and find the big themes that were important when the film was made and still are to this day. Listen to the rest of the episode at https://www.spre...

The made-in-Hollywood marriage of Ronald and Nancy Reagan is more than a love story—it’s the partnership that made him president. Of the pair, Nancy was the one with the sharper instincts about people, the superior radar for trouble, and the keen sense of how to secure his place in history. The only person in the world to whom Ronald Reagan felt truly close, Nancy understood how to foster his stre...

Today is a group discussion in which the four guys that make up Parthenon Podcast Network (Steve Guerra from Beyond the Big Screen, Richard Lim from This American President, James Early from Key Battles of American History, and Scott Rank from History Unplugged) discuss a beloved hypothetical that our listeners have separately asked each of us many times: if you could eliminate one person from our...

On May 31, 1988, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to students at Moscow State University. While standing in the heart of a Soviet Union he once described as the "Evil Empire," President Reagan spoke about his optimism about a new era of peace and freedom around the world. During the speech, he also urged Russians to reject totalitarianism and embrace the opportunities offered by a new er...

After entering office in 1981, Ronald Reagan insisted he wanted to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons. His critics scoffed at him, not believing he was sincere. In 1987, he stunned them by signing the INF Treaty with the Soviets, eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons. In this episode, we cover how Reagan did just that and how his policies led to the end of the Cold War. JOIN PREMIUM Lis...