The Preamble
Episodes
The Year of Living Constitutionally with A.J. Jacobs
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine walking into your polling place on Election Day, and openly declaring who you were voting for. That is exactly what today’s guest did when r...
A Country of Unrest with Erik Larson
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Following January 6th and the current political climate, some Americans fear there will be a “new Civil War.” But what does that truly mean? If ...
Say More with Jen Psaki
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a world of social media fights, keyboard warriors, and misinformation, it’s easy to feel disconnected, even among close friends and family. What ...
An Unfinished Love Story with Doris Kearns Goodwin
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine being a Pulitzer Prize winning presidential historian, knowing you had extraordinarily rare primary source material and Presidential memorabil...
The Vigilantes, Episode 7
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Life in prison wasn’t enough for the Knights of Mary Phagan. They wanted Leo Frank to pay with his life, and they were going to make sure it happene...
The Vigilantes, Episode 6
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Georgia’s Governor knew his life was in danger when he made his ruling. Would he commute Leo’s sentence, or let him die by execution?. And just ho...
The Vigilantes, Episode 5
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Appeal after appeal, Leo Frank was running out of options. With a new lawyer joining his defense team – the same lawyer who earlier represented the ...
The Vigilantes, Episode 4
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The heat in the Atlanta courtroom was sweltering and unbearable, as the trial against Leo Frank began. A Black man was testifying against a white man,...
The Vigilantes, Episode 3
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been 48 hours since Mary Phagan was last seen alive. It’s a media frenzy, and police are feeling the pressure to find the killer. There’s...
The Vigilantes, Episode 2
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It should have been a leisurely Saturday off work for 13-year-old Mary Phagan, who was looking forward to celebrating the Confederate Memorial Day hol...
A Conversation with Kamala Harris
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is at stake in the upcoming presidential election? From the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, to women’s healthcare, and the economy, many voters aren'...
The Vigilantes, Episode 1
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A shocking murder. A scene so brutal that the first people to find the victim couldn’t even tell what their skin color was. And a case that forever ...
Infectious Generosity with Chris Anderson
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the ultimate idea worth spreading: Generosity of spirit. Sharon is joined by Chris Anderson, whom you may know as the “head of TED.” As the...
Reimagining Democracy with Max Stearns
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever wonder what Democracy could look like in America? Many voters are familiar with this scene: You walk into a voting booth, review the optio...
Who’s Your Founding Father? with David Fleming
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you ready to question what you know about America’s founding? Today’s guest, David Fleming, shares all about a delicious slice of history in h...
Talking 2024 with Nikki Haley
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Term limits, mental competency evaluations, and the looming 2024 presidential election. Join us for one of the most requested episodes yet, as Sharon ...
Be a Revolution with Ijeoma Oluo
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a time when people are working to better understand systems of oppression and address issues that can seem daunting, folks are left asking the ques...
Awakening Wonder with Katherine May
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all gotten trapped in the social media & news loop: Checks Twitter, scrolls on Instagram, reads comments, watches the news, checks Twitter, re...
Life After Power with Jared Cohen
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to transition from one of the most powerful positions in the world, to that of an ordinary citizen? Sharon is joined by presidential h...
The Pursuit of Happiness with Jeffrey Rosen
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve heard it before: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what did the nation’s Founders mean when they identified “the pursuit of...
Ordinary People Change the World with Brad Meltzer
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a real hero? From Amelia Earhart, to Abraham Lincoln, to Jane Goodall, there are some names we all know – and with good reason. When toda...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 12
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It was supposed to be a picturesque and luxurious sightseeing tour over Antarctica. One filled with wonder and awe, in a tour that had cultivated a re...
Happy New Year!
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyin...
Merry Christmas!
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyin...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 11
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“You are now leaving Iranian air space!” It was a moment that dozens of hostages and their loved ones longed for with bated breath, for 444 days. ...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 10
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A religious leader with a raging drug addiction who led his following to a tragic end. A President with the hope of finding peace between Israel and E...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 9
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that Star Wars almost started a war in real life, over a sandcrawler model? Would the film have been so wildly successful if someone else...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 8
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A happenstance introduction to Charles Manson. Assassination attempts against President Ford– a man who was never elected to the vice presidency or ...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 7
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Draft dodging. When did the draft lottery begin for the war in Vietnam, and who among America’s youth was hit the hardest? It was an unwinnable war,...
Enough with Cassidy Hutchinson
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It was the worst attack on the US Capitol in modern American history. What was it like to be on Capitol Hill and be in the White House through that tu...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 6
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A cover up that cost Nixon's presidency, a pardon that cost Gerald R. Ford his election, and a friendship dating back to the 1940s. It was the first t...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 5
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The right to privacy, a 22-year-old who went by the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” and one of the most famous court cases in United States history. Join us...
Defending Democracy with Adam Kinzinger
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be on the right side of history? That was a question today’s guest, Adam Kinzinger, asked himself when he chose to serve on the...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 4
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Deep Throat, Operation Gemstone, two valiant reporters, and a secret 30 years in the making. Watergate was not a single scandal, but rather an avalanc...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 3
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The week that changed the world.” Was it a chance encounter at the World Tennis Championship in 1971, “Panda diplomacy” between the U.S. and ...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 2
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Secret Police, CIA operatives, The Pentagon Papers, and The Most Dangerous Man in America. There was a time in the not-so-distant past, when the night...
Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew, Episode 1
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to our new series, Mayhem: The 1970s You Never Knew. Over the next few weeks we’ll take a journey through the Decade of Defiance, with all i...
Nothing Is Missing with Nicole Walters
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes back close friend and CEO, Nicole Walters, to share all about her captivating memoir, Not...
Jewish Space Lasers, QAnon, and Two Centuries of Conspiracy Theories with Mike Rothschild
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Sharon today is Mike Rothschild: journalist, author, and conspiracy theorist expert who dives deep into the history of conspiracy theories ove...
Differ We Must with Steve Inskeep
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Sharon welcomes NPR’s Steve Inskeep, who has written a number of books about history including his newest release, Differ We M...
The Evolution of Social Media with Taylor Lorenz
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Sharon on the podcast today is well-known reporter Taylor Lorenz, who has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Atlanti...
Sure, I'll Join Your Cult with Maria Bamford
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Sharon today is comedian and author Maria Bamford, who shares the hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. Together, they discuss how Maria began her ca...
Democracy Awakening with Heather Cox Richardson
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon welcomes back political historian, author, and professor Heather Cox Richardson, one of our most popular podcast guests of all time, who has a ...
Before the Movement with Dylan Penningroth
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Sharon’s guest is Dylan Penningroth, whose new book, Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, brings to ...
What an Owl Knows with Jennifer Ackerman
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Sharon today is Jennifer Ackerman who has written a new book titled, What an Owl Knows, to discuss some new, rich scientific discoveries about...
Secret Societies and American Democracy with Colin Dickey
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon is joined today by cultural historian and author Colin Dickey, to discuss America’s fascination with conspiracies, and fear of secret societi...
Coming of Age in a Digital World with Devorah Heitner
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age i...
The Rough Rider and the Professor with Laurence Jurdem
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Sharon is joined by author and professor Laurence Jurdem to discuss his book, The Rough Rider and the Professor, about the unusu...
Oppenheimer with Kai Bird
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon’s guest today is Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of American Prometheus, which is the biography of J. Robert Oppenheime...
Tyranny of the Minority with Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American Democracy has faced some challenging times, living through a modern day political crisis. Today, Sharon is joined by Harvard professors of go...
The Myth of Educational Reform with Dr. Bettina Love
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re discussing all things public schools: The good, the bad, and the controversial. Jo...
Proclaiming the Truth of Black Dignity with Jasmine Holmes
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re joined today by returning guest, Jasmine Holmes, to dive into the state of Black history education in America, and to discuss her new book, Cr...
How Far to the Promised Land with Esau McCaulley
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Sharon is joined by Esau McCaulley for a powerful conversation about his new book, How Far to the Promised Land. In his memoir, ...
A Heart on Fire with Danielle Coke Balfour
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Sharon welcomes back Danielle Coke Balfour, who you may know as founder and illustrator of “Oh Happy Dani.” Sharon chats wit...
Humor, Grief, and Modern Motherhood with Taylor Wolfe
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Sharon welcomes back comedian and writer Taylor Wolfe to discuss her heartwarming memoir, Birdie & Harlow - Life, Loss, and Loving My Dog So Mu...
Banning Books with Suzanne Nossel
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, to talk about some of the issues rela...
The Republican Presidential Nomination with Doug Burgum
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon is joined by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to hear directly from the Republican Presidential candidate ahead of the presidential debate. In a t...
Jackie O: Public, Private, Secret with J. Randy Taraborrelli
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon connects with journalist and celebrity biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, to chat about his new b...
Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights with Samuel Freedman
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Sharon sits down with author, journalist, and educator, Samuel Freedman, to discuss a man who has arguably gotten too little credit in the Civi...
Poverty, by America with Matthew Desmond
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon is joined by Matthew Desmond, Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the founding dire...
How to Survive History with Cody Cassidy
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever played alternative history and wondered how you’d survive being in steerage on the Titanic, or how you would have fared during The Bla...
Better Together with Will Hurd
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Presidential Candidate Will Hurd joins Sharon to chat about engaging voters in primary elections to ensure stronger candidates in November. The countr...
The In-Between with Hadley Vlahos
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon is joined by Hadley Vlahos, RN, who has written a bestselling book about her experiences working as a hospice nurse. Hadley walks us through th...
Valiant Women with Lena Andrews
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Sharon is joined by CIA military analyst, WWII expert, and debut author, Lena Andrews, to unveil the scale and scope of what wom...
Women in White Coats with Olivia Campbell
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon is joined by Olivia Campbell, author and journalist who marries the history of medicine in the Victorian era with stories of three audacious wo...
“The Scandalous Hamiltons” with Bill Shaffer
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon sits down with author and historical researcher, Bill Shaffer, to learn untold stories of a Hamilton descendant in his gripping book, “The Sc...
The Shadow Docket with Stephen Vladeck
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes law professor Stephen Vladeck to nerd out about all things The Supreme Cou...
Learning to be Gutsy with Natalie Franke
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes back author and friend, Natalie Franke. Natalie’s new book, “Gutsy” is all about ho...
Undercover Inside Hate Groups with Matson and Tawni Browning
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon has a conversation with Matson and Tawni Browning about their book, The Hate Next D...
How to Tell When You've Joined a Cult with Amanda Montell
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon is joined by author Amanda Montell to talk about all things cultish. There isn’t always a standa...
The Constitution in Jeopardy with Russ Feingold
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes former Senator Russ Feingold to the show. Russ is a three-term senator fro...
Bears, Bulgaria, and Soul Boom with Rainn Wilson
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we welcome a very special guest: Rainn Wilson. You may know him best as Dwight from The Office, or maybe...
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee with David Treuer
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon connects with author David Treuer who writes about the sweeping history of Native Americans in hi...
Home, Land, Security with Carla Power
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, journalist Carla Power talks with Sharon about radicalism. Her book, Home, Land, Security,...
Built From the Fire with Victor Luckerson
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with author Victor Lukerson about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Victor’s new book, Built From t...
Until Justice Be Done with Kate Masur
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with author Kate Masur, whose book, Until Justice Be Done, shines a light on what we can con...
Buried Apologies and a Path Forward
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Disinterment and repatriation is important work, but it’s only just begun, and it’s not the only work that needs to be done to acknowledge and ato...
Barriers to a Better Education
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By the 1960s and early 1970s, activist movements across the country had begun to call for better national policies to support minority groups and the ...
The Pendulum Swings Wildly
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we are going to explore an explosive pendulum swing in the mindset of the American people,...
Beyond the Mainland
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we are going to explore the Native boarding school systems in Canada, and in our 49th and 50th states, Alaska and Hawaii. The US wasn’t the o...
Less Education, More Forced Labor
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1880, Richard Pratt opened the Carlisle School’s Outing Program. Pratt framed the programs as an opportunity to give boarding school students rea...
Death in the Schools
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1908, an anthropologist traveled to the Western states to examine an outbreak of tuberculosis and found that 20 percent–or one in every five–of...
Taken By Force
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the idea that the best way to handle the “Indian Problem” in America was to civilize their youth took hold in the late 19th century, the amount...
Shaved Heads and Stolen Lands
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Pratt’s boarding schools for Native American children didn’t just materialize out of thin air. The idea that it was the job of the governm...
Pratt's Devastating Experiment
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to our new series, Taken: Native Boarding Schools in America where we dive into the complex history of the United States Government's interven...
I Won't Shut Up with Ally Henny
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Ally Henny joins Sharon today to talk about Bruno. But in this context, Bruno–always around, but only talked about in hushed tones–is race....
Break It Up with Richard Kreitner
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with author of the book Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret Hist...
The Value of Building Civic Friendships with Dr. Kerry Sautner
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes guest Dr. Kerry Sautner, the chief learning officer at the National Consti...
Eight Iconic American Symbols with David Rubenstein
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes back David Rubenstein to talk about his new PBS series, Iconic America. The series takes ...
The Teachers with Alexandra Robbins
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon’s guest on today’s episode on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting is author Alexandra Robbins, the author of several New York Times bestsell...
An America Divided by Region with Colin Woodard
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Sharon today is Colin Woodard, the director of the Nationhood Lab. Colin is an expert on the regional cultures that make up the United States,...
The Real Dr. King with Jonathan Eig
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with Jonathan Eig, the author of the new Martin Luther King Jr. biography, King: A Life. Eig...
Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf and Ryan McAnnally-Linz
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon talks with Yale professors and two of the authors behind Life Worth Living: A Guide...
Drama Free with Nedra Tawwab
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To kick off a new season of guest interviews, Sharon sits down with the amazing Nedra Tawwab: bestselling author, relationship therapist, and boundari...
From Hoovervilles to Hummingbirds in Space
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you celebrate National Beer Day on April 7th every year? Did you even know that the U.S. has a National Beer Day? We do! And it’s all thanks to o...
The Tide Begins to Turn
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At its beginning, prohibition was spearheaded by outspoken women. Women who saw a need for social change and then set up the scaffolding to build, wha...
Luck Be A Lady Governor
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the middle of the 1920s, when Prohibition was at its peak, leaders and law enforcement could go one of two ways: they could crack down on Volstead ...
White Squares Off Against the KKK
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In its fight for a dry, anti-alcohol nation, the Anti-Saloon League recruited the Ku Klux Klan to join its mission to make Prohibition the law of the ...
A Movie and a Man Who Revived the Klan
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did one of the most popular movies in the country–a blockbuster of epic proportions–fuel the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan? And how, in just a f...
A Cocktail Toast to the Mob
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of our series on Prohibition, we talk about two things that go hand in hand with the enforcement of dry laws: crime and cocktails...