Paul Sparrow argues that Franklin Roosevelt is the quintessential American president, not just of the 20th Century, but in all of American history. FDR's ability to rally the nation from the Great Depression, and then carry it into a devastating but essential World War showed not just his talent, but his understanding of the stakes the country faced. Sparrow argues that FDR is democracy's greatest champion, and that he became that way by understanding the key to rallying the American people was by finding the right words to urge the country to embrace the cause of freedom around the world. In ..read more

What does it mean to have "free time" and is it ever enough? In "Free Time: The History of an Elusive Ideal," Dr. Gary Cross explains how free time is both precious and deceptive. Why are people on vacation already searching the web for their next one? What counts as free time? Does technology help or hurt our experience with time spent away from work? Dr. Cross joins us to answer these questions, and to explain how the concept of "free time" began. We all want free time, but does it help our physical and mental selves in the ways we assume? Information on Gary Cross' book can be found at htt ..read more

In "American Flygirl" Susan Tate Ankeny shows how a young girl with a fascination for flying became the first female Asian-American pilot to fly for the military. Hazel Ying Lee was born in Portland, but came of age at a time when the deck was stacked against people like her. Hazel never let discrimination or expectation shatter her dreams of flying for a living. She flew in China to defend her ancestral homeland from attack, then became a WASP for the US Airforce during World War II. Though Hazel died at a young age in an aviation accident, Ankeny argues that the lessons of her life for today ..read more

Though few remember it, James Swanson argues the Deerfield Massacre of 1704 played a critical role in the shaping of early America. He explains how Native tribes and French soldiers brutalized a small outpost of colonists in western Massachusetts and set off a continental effort to find the missing victims and establish forces to protect the colonies. The tale of large-scale kidnappings, battles over who land belongs to and fear of attacks without warning have clear parallels to today. Swanson also explains what it is like to see artifacts from the attack that has been almost forgotten, until ..read more

Up until the very end of World War II, even Dwight Eisenhower did not grasp the extent of the devastation the Holocaust had inflicted to the Jewish people. It wasn’t until he was among the liberators at the Ohrdruf concentration camp where the Americans found thousands of dead bodies and starving Jews when Eisenhower finally had his full call to action. They weren’t just fighting fascism, they were fighting to make sure there would never be another Holocaust. Lantzer describes how Eisenhower used his political skills to make sure the message was heard around the world. Information on "Dwight ..read more

Abraham Lincoln is often thought of as the president who kept the union together, or who contributed the legal basis for slaves to be freed in states in rebellion, but Harold Holzer, one of America's renowned Lincoln scholars, explains how Lincoln harnessed the power of immigrants to make both achievements possible. Holzer's new book, "Brought Forth on this Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration," traces Lincoln's life from midwestern storekeeper, to Whig Party stalwart, to President. His view of immigrants shifted from indifferent to embracing, as he realized the source of renewa ..read more

The Founding Fathers are often thought of as the pathbreaking generation that fought with dignity, wrote with moral clarity, and bound the colonies together with one goal. Except, in their new edited collection, “A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers and Adventurers who Created a New American Nation,” historians David Head and Timothy Hemmis argue that's not what happened at all. They say that mixed in with those like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, are a batch of who are essentially anti-Founders, those who worked to stop the founding from succeeding a ..read more

From costumes to professional football to a brand of high end ovens, "Vikings" have become a part of American pop culture. In "American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed into the Lands and Imaginations of America," historian Martyn Whittock explains why actual vikings set sail, what they were after, and why the potential for myths to be handed down to future generations was so pervasive. He shows how sailors in the year 1000 left their homes to plunder and explore, all while shaping European and American history. He explains what he found about their earliest voyages to what would eventually ..read more

How  did Ulysses S. Grant go from being surrounded by - and benefitting from - slaves to becoming one of the most instrumental American leaders responsible for its downfall? In "Soldier of Destiny," John Reeves shows how Grant's formative years with an anti-slavery father, the challenges of his alcoholism and his experience as a military leader during the Civil War led to his belief that emancipation was the only way to redeem America's founding promise. John Reeves' website can be found at https://john-reeves.com/author He is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reevesjw Information on ..read more

Aside from being famous and at the top of their crafts, Harry Truman and Pablo Picasso could hardly have been more different. Matthew Algeo explains how their one-off meeting was used by both men to further their goals in politics and art. In, "When Harry Met Pablo: Truman, Picasso and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art," Algeo explains how modern art became a leverage point in the fight against McCarthyism, and how art became a political battlefield, much as it is today. We also chatted about his life as a globetrotter, an author and his efforts to see the place where the historic - but seld ..read more