Plodding Through The Presidents Howard & Jessica Dorre

We bring you The John Adams Diet, a revolutionary new lifestyle based on the documented personal habits and diet of America's second president. From chocolate for breakfast to hard cider and long walks, the John Adams Diet can unlock the big sassy founder within you. (Results not typical or likely.)
Visit JohnAdamsDiet.com for more details.
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We welcome historian and author H. W. Brands to the show to talk about the subjects of his new book, Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics. Topics include why everybody hated Hamilton, James Madison's political metamorphosis, and the founders' fear of election-stealing demagogues. 
Show notes and sources at plodpod.com
Enter to win a copy of "Founding Partisans" at https://basicfront.easypromosapp.com/p/971239
You can subscribe to H. W. Brands' newsletter "A User's Guide to History" at hwbrands.substack.com.
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We explore two women responsible for preserving George Washington’s Mount Vernon: the "Southern Matron" Ann Pamela Cunningham, who dedicated her life to saving the mansion from ruin in the 1850s, and the eccentric Congressperson Frances Payne Bolton who used her wealth and power to save Mount Vernon's pristine view from becoming an industrial wasteland in the 1950s. It's a story of perseverance, partnership, and different kinds of power—economic, political, and even psychic.
Visit plodpod.com for show notes and more.
Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents
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This is the story of one man with big dreams who wanted to turn George Washington's Mount Vernon into a stop on his massive proposed theme park—a Disneyland on the Potomac named "The Spirit of America." In the 1960s and 70s, Joseph I. Goldstein was called the greatest threat to Mount Vernon since the British navy, and we dig into his wild plot and how the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, his neighbors, the government, and all the elements of nature joined forces to stop him.
Find out more at plodpod.com.
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We dig into the centuries-old mystery of a cornerstone in Mount Vernon’s cellar that inspired a pivotal prop in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Then we hunt for the truth behind that prop’s role in a battle between Hollywood and historical accuracy. Along the way we explore The War of Jenkins’ Ear, what the War of 1812 smelled like, and what happened when air conditioning came to Mount Vernon.
Find out more at plodpod.com.
Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents
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We welcome Emmy and Peabody award winning screenwriter and producer Kirk Ellis to the show to talk about his work adapting Apple's new series Franklin as well as HBO's John Adams series. We dig into the rich characters and settings of Franklin, what Michael Douglas brings to the role of Benjamin Franklin, and what it was like adapting David McCullough’s book John Adams and Stacy Schiff’s book A Great Improvisation—including the scenes Ellis and the authors disagreed about.
Find out more at plodpod.com.
Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents
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