The Road to Now

History podcast about where we are today and how we got here
All Episodes
from The Road to Now
- The Road to Now
- Aug 15, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Political rhetoric has become increasingly divisive in the 21st century, but many of the themes and rhetorical strategies we see today have deep roots in American history. In this episode, Ben and Bruce Carlson (My History Can Beat Up Your Politics) discuss the impact that technology, society and other factors have had on Presidential rhetoric…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 8, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Partisanship in politics has become increasingly tense in the 21st century, and while many Americans lament this polarization, few seem convinced that a rapprochement is possible. Yet history is full of proclaimed enemies striking mutually beneficial deals even in the toughest conditions. In this episode, NCSL Director Curt Stedron explains how a deep examination of…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 1, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the territory that we call the Middle East- including Syria, Iraq, Israel and Turkey- were part of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman alliance w/ Germany and Austria-Hungary during World War I provided Britain and France w/ the opportunity to divide the once-great empire into many states…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 25, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
You might know Bushwick Bill as a member of the iconic Houston rap group The Geto Boys, but his contributions to rap music, his role in the debates over free speech in the 1990s, and his overall influence are far more substantial than you probably realize. In this episode, we welcome Charles Hughes back to…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 18, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Ben tells Bob how Thai food became so prominent in the US and shares the story of the bizarre origins and sudden demolition of the Georgia Guidestones. Ben also gives an update on Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn’s (of 1776 Commission fame) recent comments that teachers come from “the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 11, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Robert E. Lee’s surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 marked the end of the American Civil War, but it was just one of many times that officers and soldiers faced the reality of surrender. Throughout the four years of the war, approximately one in four soldiers surrendered to the opposing army.…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 4, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
Jenna Spinelle joins Ben & Bob for a discussion about her new podcast, When the People Decide, which traces the origins of ballot initiatives in the United States and their impact on American politics in recent years. Jenna Spinelle is the Communications Specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, where she also…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 27, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
One episode. Two historians/podcasters. Four stories from American history that you’ve probably never heard. And an unknown number of listeners that we hope will find these stories as fascinating and surprising as we do. Greg Jackson is the creator of History That Doesn’t Suck and a Professor at Utah Valley University. Ben Sawyer hosts this…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 20, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
Since 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located in Cleveland, Ohio has worked to engage, inspire and teach people about the power of Rock music and the musicians. During a recent Avett Brothers tour stop in Cleveland, Bob dropped by the RRHF and spoke with Rock Hall director of guest experience John Goehrke…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 13, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
George Carlin had a comedy career that spanned half a century, and his take on the US remains relevant more than a decade after his death in 2008. The new HBO documentary George Carlin’s American Dream tells Carlin’s story as he evolved from a clean-cut comic in the 1950s into the edgy critic who remains…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 6, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Long-time friend of RTN Doug Heye returns to share his take on the state of politics in the US. Doug has served as communications director for the Republican National Committee, chief-of-staff to House majority leader Eric Cantor and has been active in national politics since the 1990s. Our conversation covers the recent primary elections, the…
- The Road to Now
- May 30, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
On August 15, 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the United States to say farewell to the country whose independence he helped secure more than four decades earlier. Over the next 15 months, Lafayette visited all 24 states, meeting with old friends and attending celebrations hosted by Americans who flocked to see the last-living…
- The Road to Now
- May 23, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Heather Cox Richardson returns to the show to talk history, politics, and life in general. Heather shares her thoughts on what history has to teach us about navigating division and finding unity, the sources she thinks are critical in following US policy, and why she remains optimistic despite increasing polarization in American society. She also…
- The Road to Now
- May 19, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
Brian Rosenwald joins Bob and Ben to talk about the state of American political media, its impact on the divide between Democrats & Republicans, and how the party primary election process in most states exacerbates the problem. Brian also discusses his book Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took over a Political Party that Took…
- The Road to Now
- May 16, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Hidetaka Hirota joins Bob and Ben for a conversation about the history of immigration law in the United States and the ways that government officials have decided who could and could not enter the United States. Hidetaka discusses the creation of Federal immigration law and the ways that looking at state immigration policies in the…
- The Road to Now
- May 9, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
The Road to Now just celebrated its 6 year anniversary, so we invited our old friend (and all-time record holder for most RTN appearances) Matt Negrin to join us for a conversation about what’s happening in the world and how to deal with it. Along the way, our Associate Producer, Gary Fletcher drops in for…
- The Road to Now
- May 2, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob and Ben catch up to talk about Jonathan Haidt’s recent article in the May issue of The Atlantic, “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” and their take on the problems of social media and the solutions posed by Haidt and others. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer
- The Road to Now
- Apr 25, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
The first amendment right to the freedom of speech is a cornerstone of American liberty, but this broad principle becomes a bit narrower when put into practice. Why, for example, is burning an American flag in protest protected by the first amendment but burning your draft card is not? Lynn Greenky, whose new book When…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 18, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Ron Suny joins Ben for a conversation about the Armenian Genocide. Ron, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of the Armenian genocide, explains why the Ottoman government tunred on its Armenian subjects during World War I and the methods it used to carry out this atrocity. He also explains why, in spite…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 11, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
In this episode, music writer Michaelangelo Matos joins Bob and Ben to break down why he thinks 1984 was a crucial year for the music industry. Michaelangelo also shares why he loves books about a single year. Check out Michaelangelo Matos’ book Can’t Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop’s Blockbuster Year here.
- The Road to Now
- Apr 4, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
It’s difficult to fathom how Benjamin Franklin accomplished so much in a single lifetime. It’s equally difficult to imagine how to take such an incredible life and consolidate it into four hours of documentary film. In this episode, we cover both feats with writer Dayton Duncan and producer David Schmidt, two of the great minds…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 28, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
The Russian Revolution that began with the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in February of 1917 and continued into a second revolution the following October, is unquestionably one of the most significant events in modern history. The October Revolution brought Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party from relative obscurity to the leaders of the first…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 21, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
For the past year, Bob has been working on an audio docu-series that traces musicians’ activism for human rights through benefit concerts from the 1970s to the 1990s. That series, Concerts of Change: The Soundtrack of Human Rights, airs Tuesday, March 22 on Siriux/XM’s Volume Channel (106), so in this episode, Bob and Ben mark…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 14, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
The Russian government recently made moves to nationalize the property of foreign owned firms that ceased operation in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Ben’s research is all about the history of foreign investment in Russia/the Soviet Union, so he and Bob sit down for a discussion about the very severe consequences that nationalization has…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 7, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a brutal invasion of Ukraine has sparked a coordinated wave of sanctions from the US and members of the European Union. This may be the most comprehensive set of sanctions that Moscow has seen, but it is certainly not the first. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Kristy…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 28, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Journalist Heath Druzin’s new podcast Extremely American examines the American militia movement through first-hand interviews with militia members and their opponents. In this episode, Heath joins Bob and Ben for a discussion about what he learned while spending time with individuals in the movement, how the militia movement has changed in the last few years,…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 21, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
The Constitution empowers the electoral college to select the President, but the process for counting electors’ votes remains in the hands of Congress. In this episode, Constitutional Law Professor Edward Foley explains the origins of the electoral college, how and why the 12th Amendment changed the process for electing Presidents, and the concerns that led…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 14, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob & Ben catch up to talk about the Presidential Records Act and how Trump’s violations of the act stack up to other Presidents’ handling of their records. They also discuss Neil Young and other artists’ decision to pull their music from Spotify as a response to Joe Rogan’s prominent position on the platform, as…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 7, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob speaks with Messiah College’s John Fea about Christianity in Early America and the ways that the founders viewed the relationship between faith and politics. Fea outlines the “5 Cs” of history, the importance of approaching history with an open mind, and explains why he thinks the title of his book Was America Founded as…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 31, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
Ukraine has gotten a lot of intermittent attention in the US over the last few years, but the stories we hear are usually about the US and Russia. To counter that tendency, we offer you a story about Ukraine that is actually about Ukraine. In this episode, historian Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon joins Ben to talk…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 29, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
Today we’ve got a little something special for you- something we’re calling “Crossroads.” From time to time, on weekends, Bob and I will be sharing episodes of podcasts that we think our audience might enjoy, and our first ever featured podcast is History Daily. History Daily is hosted by our friend and podcaster extraordinaire, Lindsay…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 24, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Jon Grinspan is a curator of political history at the Smithsonian Museum of American History and a frequent contributor to The New York Times. In this episode, Jon explains how his work with historical objects has informed his understanding of the past, the reasons he thinks that American politics in recent years is less of…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 17, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
On January 9, the new musical Swept Away, which is based on the music of Bob’s band The Avett Brothers, premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. In this episode, the musical’s writer, John Logan (Any Given Sunday, Skyfall, Red) and lead actor, John Gallagher Jr. (American Idiot, The Newsroom) join Bob and Ben for a…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 10, 2022
- 2:00 am UTC
In 1998, as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, the biggest US tobacco companies agreed to open their archives to the public. Inside company documents was a story of tobacco executives who understood that cigarettes killed smokers yet expended vast amounts of time and money to keep that information from the public. In this…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 3, 2022
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob & Ben catch up for a conversation about 2021 and what may await us in the New Year. They discuss free speech on college campuses, the state of the workforce, and little bit about a lot of other topics. Happy New Year! We’re excited to announce that we’ve collaborated with Hark Audio to make…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 20, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
On December 25, 1776, George Washington and his men celebrated their first post-Declaration of Independence Christmas by crossing a freezing river to mount a surprise attack against their enemies. The plan worked, but almost 250 years later the story of Washington crossing the Delaware might surprise you too. In this episode, RTN favorite Bruce Carlson…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 13, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
Faith has played an important role in American history, but not always in the ways we’d expect. In this episode, Andy Polk joins Bob and Ben to explain how politicians, advertising executives and public relations experts bypassed America’s religious leaders, ignored theological debates, and dismissed historical evidence to fabricate and sell a story of America’s…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 6, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
The stories we tell about ourselves help us make sense of the world. And while we all have stories as individuals, a set them within a shared narrative that is the foundation of our communities. In this episode, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) CEO Tim Storey hosts Ben and storyteller Donna Washington in a…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 29, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
During a trip to Denver, Bob and Ben were fortunate enough to sit down with journalist and historian Dick Kreck at the historic Brown Palace hotel for a conversation about the history of the Wild West and the city of Denver, Colorado in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Before retiring in 2009, Dick spent…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 22, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
Nora Guthrie, daughter of American icon Woody Guthrie, joins Ben & Bob to talk about her father’s life and the many ways she’s contributed to sharing his story. Nora discusses the inspiration for Woody’s music, his connection to Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly and other music icons, and why her new Woody Guthrie: Songs and…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 15, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
The 2020 Presidential election was one of the most tumultuous in American history, and while Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump is settled, Trump’s refusal to accept defeat has had implications that transcend his time in the oval office. In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Robert Costa, whose new book Peril draws on…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 8, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
There is a lot at stake when congressional districts are redrawn every ten years, and the complexity of redistricting can make it hard for even well-informed citizens to understand the process. In this episode, we get a primer on redistricting’s past and present from the same experts that our state legislators turn to when it’s…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 1, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Is the United States an empire? US citizens have struggled with this question for a long time. Though our historical narrative traces our origins to the war for independence against the British Empire, we often forget that the US has presided over territories since the very beginning. Today about 4 million people in the territories…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 25, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
In May of 1787, delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia and and began debating what would become the US Constitution. They published the document the following September and we’ve been arguing about it ever since. As President & CEO of the The National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen is responsible for fulfilling the center’s mission…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 18, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
The Miss America pageant has always had its critics, but the stories of the organization and those who participated in it are far more dynamic than most people recognize. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Amy Argetsinger whose new book There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America explains Miss America’s origins,…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 11, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
How did corn syrup get such a bad reputation? While there are certainly differences between this corn-based sweetener and the sugar that comes from beets & cane, the opinions many of us hold about what separates them are rooted in much more than the scant scientific evidence on their differing impact on human health. In…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 4, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
In 1776, the US declared independence. Eleven years later, in 1787, delegates from 12 states (we’re looking at YOU Rhode Island) got together in Philadelphia and wrote the Constitution. In between those triumphant moments, there was the Articles of Confederation, that “firm league of friendship” that most Americans probably know as something they had to…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 27, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
The Monsanto Company officially ceased to exist when it was acquired by Bayer in 2018, but its legacy lives on in courtrooms, factory towns and farms across the globe. Today the company’s name is most associated with the herbicide Roundup and genetically modified seeds, but Monsanto also served as a leading producer of Agent Orange…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 20, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Most Americans know Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”, but the song, much like the man who wrote it, is far more complex than many of us realize. Guthrie, who was born in Oklahoma in 1912, moved west during the Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s and witnessed the tragedy of the Great Depression first-hand.…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 13, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Bob & Ben catch up to talk about the state of political and social unrest in the US and where they see current events within recent history. They cover the recent turn to vigilantism in the US by both anti-mask protestors and the state of Texas, as well as their concern over a tyrannical minority…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 6, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Most Americans drink coffee. Our love for coffee ties us to people and countries around the world, and to those who lived long before us. In this episode of The Road to Now, we speak with Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee & How It Changed the World and Beyond Fair…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 30, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
In this episode, Bob speaks with freelance journalist, Julian Rubenstein, author of The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021). The book tells the story of anti-gang activist, Terrance Roberts, who shot a young gang member before a peace rally he organized. In telling…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 23, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Neil Hanson is one of the most interesting people we know. He’s written books on World War I, the Spanish Armada, and the fire that destroyed London in 1666. He once teamed up with history’s greatest treasure hunter to tell the story of retrieving over $100 million in gold from a sunken Soviet ship in…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 16, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
According to the US Department of Education, 45 million Americans collectively owe $1.7 billion in total student loan debt. While the weight of student loans has increased substantially in the 21st century, the history of student debt and the institutions that facilitate it is a much longer story than you probably expect. Ellie Shermer joins…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 9, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
When two people look at the same set of facts and reach an entirely different conclusion, it’s often because of a difference in the way they understand their place in the world. In this episode (recorded when Bob began his graduate course in methodology in January 2019), Ben and Bob discuss the power of historical…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 2, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
The rejection of scientific expertise has been one of the most consequential social trends of the 21st century and, for those of us who remain committed to the scientific method, it may also be the most frustrating. After years of being bombarded with evidence (and often having their intelligence insulted), science deniers seem even more…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 25, 2021
- 11:41 pm UTC
Bob and Ben speak with Jon Waterlow about his book It’s Only a Joke Comrade! Humor, Trust and Everyday Life Under Stalin and the role humor plays in helping humans make sense of the world in even the darkest times. Jon also shares his take on humor’s role in politics under Stalin and today, the…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 19, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Millions of people from across the globe visit Los Angeles every year, but only a lucky few have gotten a tour of the city from tour guides/stand up comics, Rivers Langley, Anna Valenzuela & Carter Glascock. In this episode, Ben speaks with Rivers, Carter and Anna about their favorite stories from Los Angeles’ history, what…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 12, 2021
- 1:15 am UTC
Three generations ago, large American corporations offered their employees the stability of life-long employment and the promise of a pension-funded retirement. In the 21st Century, that model has given way to the “gig economy” in which people work multiple jobs. In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Cornell University’s Louis Hyman about the forces…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 5, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Game shows have been featured in network lineups from the very beginning of television and, like all forms of entertainment, they tell us a lot about the culture in which they exist. Fortunately for us, The Strong Museum of Play recently announced the establishment of The National Archives of Game Show History to preserve this…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 28, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
This is an expanded version of episode 72, which originally aired in September 2017. In this episode of The Road to Now, we sit down for coffee and conversation with Bob’s bandmates in The Avett Brothers for a discussion about art, technology, and challenges of creativity. We cover the historic relationship between genius and madness,…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 21, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
Since establishing Sean’s Russia Blog in 2005, Sean Guillory has been one of the most prominent public-facing scholars in Russian and Soviet History. In this episode, Sean gives his insight on the gap between academic research and public perceptions, offers his take on why Cold War-era tropes continue to dominate US-Russia relations, and explains why…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 14, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
The Republican Party of today may look a lot different than it did just a decades ago, but it rests on many of the same organizations and ideologies that formed the modern conservative movement in the 1970s. In this episode, Rick Perlstein joins us for a conversation about his newest book Reaganland: America’s Right Turn,…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 7, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of enslaved Americans at the end of the Civil War, has gone from a local holiday in Texas to a national day of celebration for many Americans. In this episode we speak with legal scholar and Pulitzer Prize winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed about her new book On Juneteenth and the…
- The Road to Now
- May 31, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
The Harlem Globetrotters are one of those great parts of American culture that almost everyone knows and loves. For most of us today, the Globetrotters are outstanding entertainers. But did you know that in the mid-20th century the Globetrotters were probably the single best basketball team on the planet? Did you know that they did…
- The Road to Now
- May 17, 2021
- 3:00 am UTC
Since the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, policy makers have had to make hard choices to ensure that American citizens can access the cheap and plentiful energy to which we have become accustomed. Although the US has returned to a position of energy independence in recent years, a variety of problems, from climate change to…
- The Road to Now
- May 3, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
It’s the 5th anniversary of The Road to Now so Bob and Ben invited a brilliant lineup of past guests to answer one question: “What has been the most unexpected turn you’ve seen in the last 5 years and how has it changed the way you understand the past?” The lineup: Senator John Hickenlooper Heather…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 26, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Proponents of voting restrictions such as those recently enacted in Georgia have argued that these laws will restore voters’ faith in democracy. History, however, offers a long list of reasons to be skeptical. In this episode, Bob and Ben are joined by Ben’s MTSU history colleague Dr. Louis Woods for a conversation on the history…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 12, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
In the years after World War II, Americans moved to the suburbs in search of the peace and safety that many came to equate with the “American Dream.” By the end of the 1970s, however, suburbanites had come sense that their privileged was under siege from satanic cults, drug dealers and kidnappers. In this episode,…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 22, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
The $1.9 billion stimulus plan that President Biden signed into law on March 11th has implications for everyone in the United States, but understanding it isn’t easy. In this episode we speak with Erlinda Doherty, who is Director of the Budgets and Revenue Committee at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) to find out…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 15, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
Market bubbles can make and break fortunes, and which side of things you end up on has everything to do with what you’re holding when the bubble busts. But what separates a bubble from sensible investing? It’s always hard to tell in the moment, but history has some valuable lessons. In this episode, Ben talks…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 1, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
The Nazi regime that came to power in Germany in 1933 unleashed the most brutal and comprehensive war that humanity has ever seen. The horrors of the Nazis and the destruction they left behind is something most of us learned about in history class, but for Gerd Schroth it is the story of his childhood.…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 15, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Ken Burns joins Bob and Ben for a conversation about American history and the themes he sees playing out in the US today. Ken shares his process for selecting subjects for his films and explains how his new 3-part film Hemingway (co-directed w/ Lynn Novick) highlights Ernest Hemingway’s individual genius while also revealing the universal…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 8, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob and Ben talk with Dr. Amy Cooter, a sociologist at Vanderbilt University whose research examines American militias. Amy shares what she’s learned in the hundreds of hours she’s spent interviewing American militia members, how it can help us moving forward, and how different “nostalgic groups” have mobilized to defend their vision of America. She…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 1, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Bob and Ben respond to feedback about their episode on the 1776 project, evaluate the “worst President ever” claim, and discuss the utopian vision of “unbiased history.” Ben tries to focus on asking Bob questions and doesn’t exactly pull it off. Ben learns about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s conspiracy theories for the first time from Bob…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 25, 2021
- 2:00 am UTC
One of Joe Biden’s first acts as President of the United States was to sign an executive order that disbanded his predecessor’s advisory committee to promote “patriotic education.” This came just two days after the so-called 1776 Commission had published its report, leading many critics to see the report as old news. In reality though,…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 18, 2021
- 4:13 am UTC
Bob Crawford is back, so he and Ben decided to take an episode to talk about recent political developments and where they (might) fit into our historical narrative.
- The Road to Now
- Jan 4, 2021
- 2:30 am UTC
Megan Rosenbloom joins Ben and guest cohost Tanya Marsh for a discussion about Megan’s new book Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2020). Megan built a team of experts to test the validity of books claimed to be covered in human…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 21, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
Journalist Bill Scher joins Ben for a conversation about political pragmatism and the accomplishments that come from compromise and playing the long game when it comes to institutional change. Bill also talks about how his life as a journalist led him to create his new podcast, When America Worked, which focuses on the people whose…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 7, 2020
- 2:30 am UTC
Ben and Bob caught up with Christmas expert James Cooper to find out the origins of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and all the other parts of Christmas that most of us take for granted. James explains how Santa Claus and Christmas traditions evolved around the world, and how a man who lived almost 2,000 years…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 23, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins us to talk about the origins of the President’s cabinet and how the decisions George Washington made have outlasted his time in office by more than 200 years. We also discuss the changing role of the executive and why delaying the transition between incoming and outgoing Presidential administrations can have…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 9, 2020
- 3:00 am UTC
The Lumbee are the largest Indian tribe east of the Mississippi, and while few are familiar with their story, Lumbee history is remarkable both in itself and as a way to more richly understand the United States in general. In this episode we speak with Dr. Malinda Maynor Lowery, whose life as a member of…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 2, 2020
- 3:00 am UTC
If Trump claims that voter fraud cost him the election, Pennsylvania is probably going to be central to that story. What do journalists need to know to prepare? Matt talks with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro to get the answer. Making the Call is a RTN special series hosted by The Daily Show Senior Digital…
- The Road to Now
- Nov 1, 2020
- 3:00 am UTC
Matt brainstorms with White House correspondent Brian Karem, the reporter who first asked Trump if he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power, about the perfect question to ask the president the morning after he falsely claims victory. Is there one?! Making the Call is a RTN special series hosted by The Daily Show Senior…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 31, 2020
- 3:00 am UTC
Sarah Mimms, a D.C. editor at BuzzFeed News, explains how her newsroom is preparing for an apocalyptic election night — but can you really prepare for anything involving Trump? Making the Call is a RTN special series hosted by The Daily Show Senior Digital Producer Matt Negrin.
- The Road to Now
- Oct 30, 2020
- 4:00 am UTC
In the first of his four part series on media coverage and election night 2020, Matt Negrin calls his former colleague Isaac Dovere, who covers Biden for The Atlantic, to talk about why Trump won’t concede, and what the Biden campaign is nervous about. Making the Call is a RTN special series hosted by The…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 19, 2020
- 2:30 am UTC
Journalist David Menconi has documented the people and sounds of North Carolina’s music scene for almost three decades. In this episode, Ben and guest co-host Dolph Ramseur speak with David about his new book Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina…
- The Road to Now
- Oct 5, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
This episode is a reair of RTN #48 (with an updated intro). George Washington is one of the most revered figures in American history. As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Washington led his troops to one of the most unlikely and world-shaking victories in modern history, and his selection as President of both the Constitutional…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 20, 2020
- 11:36 pm UTC
2020 has been “eventful” so Bob & Ben decided to take an episode to sit back and cover what’s been happening lately and answer questions from our Patrons. We discuss Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the state of politics in the US and major developments in the 2020 election. Ben also gives a rundown of the recent…
- The Road to Now
- Sep 7, 2020
- 1:30 am UTC
The confrontations between demonstrators and police that have taken place in the last few months have resulted in a national debate about law enforcement. The expanded use of Federal officers in American cities and the use of unmarked vehicles to detain citizens are concerning recent developments, but some scholars have pointed out that these tactics…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 24, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
Ravi Patel has been a lot of things– an investment banker, an actor, the co-founder of an organization that benefits undernourished children– but in recent years, he’s set out to find the answers to life’s big questions and to share what he finds with others. In this episode, Ravi joins Bob and Ben for a…
- The Road to Now
- Aug 10, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
In 2006, Roger McNamee played a crucial role in convincing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg not to sell his company to Yahoo!. A couple of years later, he helped bring Sheryl Sandberg in as Facebook’s COO. Yet despite this personal connection, and his role as an early investor in the company, Roger now believes that Facebook…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 27, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
The military engagements of the US Civil War came to an end in 1865, but the ideology of the confederacy was not so easily defeated. In this episode we speak with Dr. Heather Cox Richardson about her new book How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul…
- The Road to Now
- Jul 13, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
Cellist Joe Kwon joins Bob & Ben to talk about his journey from aspiring classical musician to Bob’s bandmate in The Avett Brothers. Joe shares his experiences as a Korean immigrant growing up in North Carolina, why he decided to become a cellist, and where he learned to play the cello standing up. Joe and…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 29, 2020
- 2:30 am UTC
As Americans grapple with the devastation wrought by the dual pandemics of racism and Covid-19, it is critically important to understand the vast racial disparities Covid-19 has exposed within the African American community (specifically), but communities of color (generally). The legacies of housing policies sponsoring residential segregation, and the associated racial gaps in wealth, educational…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 22, 2020
- 3:00 am UTC
Tom Nichols is University Professor at the Naval War College, where he specializes in international affairs, and a respected commentator on US politics and international security. A former Republican, Tom broke from the party during the Trump administration and has since been a vocal critic of the current administration. In this episode Bob and Ben…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 15, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
Michael Bonfiglio is an award-winning filmmaker whose work as a director and producer includes May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2017), the ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries You Don’t Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson (2012) and Doc & Darryl (2016), and From the Ashes (2017). Mike joins Ben & Bob…
- The Road to Now
- Jun 1, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
Since going viral with his Liberal Redneck videos in 2016, comedian Trae Crowder has become well-known for sharing a perspective that is southern in origin, but not quite what most people expect. In this episode, Trae joins Bob and Ben for a conversation about southern culture, the south’s bizarre embrace of Donald Trump, and how…
- The Road to Now
- May 18, 2020
- 1:12 am UTC
There was a lot happening when Bob and Ben launched the first episode of The Road to Now on May 19th, 2016. It was the year of a Presidential election, there was an intense feeling of partisanship in the air, and people were everywhere- at concerts, in classes, on the sidewalk…. Four years later, Bob…
- The Road to Now
- May 11, 2020
- 1:30 am UTC
Baseball is part of America’s cultural fabric, and few people know the game and its place in society as well as Jayson Stark. As a celebrated sportswriter, Jayson has witnessed baseball’s transformation for more than four decades, and has had a front-row seat to some of the biggest moments in the sport’s history. In this…
- The Road to Now
- May 4, 2020
- 1:30 am UTC
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched an attack on the USSR that caught Soviet leaders completely off guard. Over the next four years, the Red Army was transformed, as were the lives of more than 34 million men and women who served in its ranks. In this episode, Ben speaks with Brandon Schechter about…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 27, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
The Kinks are one of the great rock bands of the 20th century, and like all artists, they reflect the times and places they’ve inhabited. In this episode, we speak with Mark Doyle about his excellent new book The Kinks: Songs of the Semi-Detached (Reaktion Books, 2020) and how the band, their origins, and Ray…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 19, 2020
- 11:56 pm UTC
This is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired on March 20, 2017 Note: Given that we are relying more than ever on technology to communicate and work during this epidemic, we thought it was a good time to share our interview w/ Nicholas Carr. The internet has revolutionized the human experience in the…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 19, 2020
- 11:56 pm UTC
This is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired on March 20, 2017 Note: Given that we are relying more than ever on technology to communicate and work during this epidemic, we thought it was a good time to share our interview w/ Nicholas Carr. The internet has revolutionized the human experience in the…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 13, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
As people try to make sense of the Coronavirus epidemic, some have unfortunately turned to conspiracy theories linking Covid-19 to the installation of 5G networks. In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Stacy Wood about her research on conspiracy theories, the past conspiracy theories that have converged in the 5G theory, and the reasons…
- The Road to Now
- Apr 6, 2020
- 1:07 am UTC
When we think of epidemics, we often imagine the central struggle as between microbe and epidemiologist. But as the coronavirus outbreak has reminded us, our individual actions can compound in ways that have a very real implications for any epidemic. The narrative we adopt to understand these events- ie the story we tell ourselves about…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 30, 2020
- 5:48 am UTC
Based on what you’ve told us on social media, it’s time for a break from the outbreak. So in this episode, Bob and Ben talk about the French Revolution, nationalism and colonization (aka the books assigned for Bob’s Graduate European History Seminar). They also talk about the art of teaching and Ben’s approach to transitioning…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 23, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
Note: Bob and Ben start off talking about the Covid-19 outbreak and plans for upcoming episodes of this podcast. We shift to our discussion with Dr. Cohen at about 10:30. The suburbanization of the American landscape after World War II left the country’s older urban centers in crisis. Revitalizing cities was no easy task, and…
- The Road to Now
- Mar 16, 2020
- 1:58 am UTC
Disasters abound, and what comes next is all about making good decisions. Ben talks about the Nashville tornado of 1998, the Nashville tornado of 2020, and the coronavirus, and Dr. Andy Bruno shares his expertise on the origins of natural disasters and what we can learn from studying them in history.
- The Road to Now
- Mar 9, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
Bob and Ben speak with Dr. Chuck Keeney about the history of coal in the United States. Chuck explains the ways that the coal industry has shaped not only the physical landscape of mining towns, but also, through lobbying efforts and information campaigns, the way we understand our nation’s history. Chuck is uniquely qualified to…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 24, 2020
- 12:00 am UTC
For many years now, Tim Mossberger has been building an incredible collection of material objects, music, and information on Bob’s band The Avett Brothers. In this episode, Bob and Ben talk with Tim about how he became the Avett Archivist, where he gets his rare items, and how he processes, preserves, and organizes the massive…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 17, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
The Road to Now is celebrating our fourth Presidents’ Day by launching our first Presidents’ Day episode! To mark this momentous occasion, Bob and Ben both sat down with a list of three significant moments in presidential history and discussed. Are there Roosevelts? Yes. Are there presidents born in three different decades? Yes. Should you…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 10, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
When it comes to food, knowing what you’re getting can be tricky. On the surface, words such as “pure” and “natural” seem straightforward, yet defining them in the modern world has required experts, laws, and administrative structures. In this episode, Bob & Ben speak with Lafayette College’s Benjamin Cohen about the pure food crusades of…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 6, 2020
- 12:30 am UTC
In the last few decades, NASCAR has taken stock car racing from a regional sport anchored in the south, to the national level. Though NASCAR has a reputation as a family-friendly organization, its history is inseparable from the moonshining and bootlegging of the prohibition era. And while the cars on today’s tracks have little in…
- The Road to Now
- Feb 3, 2020
- 12:00 am UTC
Charlotte, NC has grown tremendously in the last half-century, yet it still lacks a clear national identity. While many know it today for its professional sports franchises or its prominence as a banking hub, the city was once recognized for its leadership in school integration following the 1971 Supreme Court ruling in Swann vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 27, 2020
- 2:00 am UTC
Dr. Molly Worthen (Department of History, UNC-Chapel Hill), Doug Heye (CNN/former RNC Communication Director) & Rufus Edmisten (Deputy Chief Council, Senate Watergate Committee/ former NC Secretary of State & Attorney General) join Bob & Ben for a conversation about charisma in American politics and society. Recorded live at the legendary Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 20, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
After our last episode on the separation of powers in the Constitution, we heard from several listeners who said they wished we’d spent more time on the topic. The people have spoken, so we’re following up with another episode on modern politics and the Constitution with special guest, RTN-favorite Matt Negrin! Matt Negrin holds the…
- The Road to Now
- Jan 13, 2020
- 1:00 am UTC
2020 begins with an Impeachment Trial in the Senate and will end with a Presidential election, so Bob and Ben are kicking off the year discussing the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. Their conversation covers the articles of impeachment against Trump, the gap between the modern Presidency and the…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 23, 2019
- 1:09 am UTC
In our final episode of 2019, Bob & Ben speak w/ historian Carson Hudson, whose program “Uncivil Christmas” tells of life in Williamsburg, Virginia during the years of the Civil War. Carson explains the politics and culture of the era, the major role that music played in uniting (and dividing) Americans during the war, the…
- The Road to Now
- Dec 16, 2019
- 12:29 am UTC
On December 25, 1776, George Washington and his men celebrated their first post-Declaration of Independence Christmas by crossing a freezing river to mount a surprise attack against their enemies. The plan worked, but almost 250 years later the story of Washington crossing the Delaware might surprise you too. In this episode, RTN favorite Bruce Carlson…