Axelbank Reports History and Today

Evan Axelbank
  • 4.8 (43)
  • History
  • Updated Biweekly

"Axelbank Reports History and Today: Conversations with America’s top non-fiction authors and why their books matter right now" approaches our past and present in a way that makes anyone want to listen. National-award winning TV news reporter Evan Axelbank interviews writers of history and current events to explore how America works and how it has been shaped by both the powerful and the powerless. In conversational and engaging fashion, listeners learn about the most important events, themes and figures in American history. This podcast shows why we have no choice but to understand where we have been, to know where we are going.

  1. 1d ago

    #212: Matthew Algeo - "The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit"

    From the publisher: "In the nineteenth century, Manhattan’s streets were so choked with pedestrians, horses, vehicles, and vendors that a trip from City Hall to Central Park could take hours. Alfred Beach had the perfect solution: build a giant pneumatic tube underneath Broadway from the Battery to Harlem. Air pressure would shoot passengers up and down the island in clean, quiet carriages. But Beach was up against the operators of the horse-drawn streetcars and the politicians in their pay, most conspicuously William M. Tweed, the notorious “Boss” of Tammany Hall. New York’s Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit tells a classic story of good versus evil, pitting the mild-mannered Beach, a visionary inventor and entrepreneur, against the oafish tyrant Tweed, the exemplar of corruption in the Gilded Age. It also tells the story of one of the most astonishing feats of engineering in American history, the surreptitious creation of the nation’s first operational subway. New York seemed destined to become the second city in the world with a comprehensive subway system, after London. Unfortunately, political lethargy and greed would conspire to deny the city a subway for another thirty years. Yet Alfred Beach still proved conclusively the feasibility of underground railways in Manhattan, and paved the way for modern mass transportation systems." Matthew Algeo's website is https://www.malgeo.net/ Information on his book can be found at https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9781642833652/new-yorks-secret-subway AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  2. Aug 4

    #211: Caroline Hallemann - "The Kennedys & The Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made"

    From the publisher:  "For nearly a century, two families an ocean apart have captured the world’s collective imagination: the British Windsors and the American Kennedys. Much ink has been spilled on their individual trysts, tragedies, and triumphs over the years, but no one has examined their powerful and intertwined legacies. Until now. In The Kennedys and the Windsors, acclaimed journalist Caroline Hallemann unearths the story of two iconic families whose lives, ambitions, and respective reigns have mirrored each other in surprising ways. Through rich archival research and fresh interviews from insiders on both sides of the Atlantic, Hallemann reveals how an upstart Irish Catholic family with little access into elite New England society came to host dinner parties for a King and Queen, and forge an eventual path to the White House. In the process, she draws out some startling parallels between the two families: the style icons Princess Diana and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (both tragically gone too soon), the frustrated “second sisters” Princess Margaret and Lee Radziwill, the scandal-plagued next generation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the man formerly known as Prince Andrew, and the current generation’s shared struggle to figure out what a monarchy (actual or imagined) means in the twenty-first century. From Queen Elizabeth’s coronation to President Kennedy’s historic London visit, from JFK Jr.’s shocking death to Prince Harry’s decisive break with his family, Hallemann traces the key moments in the lives of these two dynasties through a fresh and fascinating lens, showing how they have intersected over the generations in ways that not only shaped their images and legacies, but history itself." Caroline Hallemann's website can be found at: https://carolinehallemann.com/ Information on her book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743272/the-kennedys-and-the-windsors-by-caroline-hallemann/ AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  3. Jul 28

    #210: Julian Zelizer - "The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden: A First Historical Assessment"

    From the publisher: The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden presents a first draft of history by providing insights into how this one-term president fits within the broader historical forces shaping the United States in the twenty-first century. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together some of today’s leading scholars to give balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major issues of the Biden years, from education and reproductive rights to the economy, labor relations, climate policy, race, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the culture wars. These incisive essays trace the full arc of Joe Biden’s presidency from its early successes to the setbacks that ultimately consumed it. His domestic legislative achievements were hailed by some as the most momentous of any American presidency since the Great Society while his foreign policy ably met the challenges posed by the nation’s great power rivals. Yet by late 2024, Biden’s legacy was in tatters, overshadowed by immigration, inflation, the war in Gaza, and the president’s obvious physical decline. Written in a clear and accessible manner, The Presidency of Joseph R. Bidenmoves beyond the day-by-day journalistic coverage to provide the first comprehensive scholarly account of the Biden administration’s achievements and eventual downfall. With contributions by Kathryn Cramer Brownell, María Cristina García, Joel K. Goldstein, Michael Kazin, Daniel C. Kurtzer, Joyce Mao, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Timothy Naftali, Ekaterina Pravilova, Noah Rosenblum, Paul Sabin, Timothy Stewart-Winter, Sean H. Vanatta, John Witt, and Mary Ziegler. Information on Julian Zelizer's book can be found at https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691274782/the-presidency-of-joseph-r-biden?srsltid=AfmBOoqBud63FustBZYB3F6rXOApm3hX5VZKNkTD9fuyxY3Nofdy7uf0 AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  4. Jul 14

    #209: David O'Stewart - "The Democracy We Must Keep: Seven Founders, Nine Documents, and the Ideas That Shaped America"

    From the publisher: "What did America's founders say about democracy-and can we remain true to their vision for America? Two hundred fifty years ago, passionate men attempted to create something the world had never seen before: a nation built not on kings or armies, but on ideas where the people ruled. In The Democracy We Must Keep, historian David O. Stewart takes readers inside the nine key documents that shaped the formation of the United States-from Patrick Henry's thunderous cry for liberty to the carefully crafted design of a government chosen by the people, with limits on all officials holding power under the Constitution." David O'Stewart's website can be found at https://davidostewart.com/ AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  5. Jul 7

    #208: Brian Jay Jones - "The Capitol: The Surprising Biography of an American Building"

    From the publisher:  "An in-depth exploration of history of the US Capitol building and the incredible personalities who built it, full of dramatic stories and surprising facts; a powerful testament to what the Capitol has meant to generations of Americans and how it has endured. The Capitol is a unique biography of a place, encompassing architecture, history, politics, popular culture, and race in a fascinating exploration of our Capitol’s secret past, one rife with political intrigue, assassination attempts, thwarted bombings, and gunmen on the run. Never mind ghostly cat prints, mysteriously bloodstained steps, and charming “fairy doors” that have delighted visitors for hundreds of years.  Spanning three centuries of American history, the book focuses on iconic and notable names and personalities from the past—from George Washington to Davy Crockett to Ronald Reagan—as well as countless colorful characters readers may not have heard of before, with a focus on restoring the narratives of enslaved people and recognizing their contributions.  The story of the Capitol is the story of America itself, and, for the first time, that story will be told in this sweeping, aspirational biography of the building at the very heart of the American experiment." Brian's website can be found at: https://brianjayjones.com/ Information on his book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672053/the-capitol-by-brian-jay-jones/ AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  6. Jul 4

    #207: SPECIAL EDITION: America at 250 with Peter Onuf - "Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours"

    From the publisher: “Does Thomas Jefferson still matter?” ask two leading historians on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson has been reinvented more than perhaps any American president in history. In the nineteenth century, slavery’s defenders invoked Jefferson’s defense of states’ rights while abolitionists drew on his antislavery writings in support of their cause. After the Civil War, Jefferson’s reputation declined because of his association with secession and disunion, but in the twentieth century, his image soared as he came to embody the democratic values America fought for during World War II. Unsurprisingly, Jefferson’s legacy has shifted yet again in the twenty-first century, effectively becoming a partisan talisman—jettisoned by the left as a plantation patriarch and repurposed by the right as an avatar of white nationalism. Dissatisfied with these political caricatures and manic swings, leading Jefferson scholars Peter S. Onuf and Francis D. Cogliano instead situate the founding father in his complicated historical context and reveal how his wisdom can be applied today. In a series of three interrelated essays, the authors paint a nuanced portrait. “Generations” elucidates how Jefferson’s understanding of history shaped his responses to the major problems of his time. “My Country” delves into how he conceived of the American homeland, and “The People” unravels how Jefferson articulated a new national identity in the Declaration of Independence. Taken together, Thomas Jefferson Survives demonstrates how even amid crisis, Jefferson managed to articulate a capacious and optimistic vision for the future of the American people. As Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed writes in her foreword, “As much as Jefferson reflected the often-benighted times in which he lived, he rose above them in ways that have a great deal to tell us about the political straits in which we find ourselves.” After all, Jefferson knew better than anyone that 1776 was an important moment, but not the only moment, for Americans to write a better future." Information on his book can be found at https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324098072 AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  7. Jun 30

    #206: J.D. Dickey - "Boston, 1776: A Rogue Tour of Revolution City"

    From the publisher: "A traveler’s journey to the heart of the American Revolution, close up at the ground level, among the patriots, amid the pandemonium, on July 4, 1776. Welcome to Revolution City—where the air smells of tar, booze, gunpowder . . . and rebellion.  Your tour takes you through the turbulent streets, tub-thumping taverns, and radical strongholds of a town at war with an empire. Far from the powdered wigs and genteel debates of history textbooks, this book guides us through the real Boston of the American Revolution: frenzied, dangerous, and fiercely alive. Join the crowds in taprooms where rebel plots were hatched. Witness mobs rise up over the price of bread. Stand with patriots as they sharpen bayonets on Bunker Hill, and watch as Loyalists get tarred and feathered. Drink the rum made on the town docks, sample the sinful in the city's back alleys, and gaze at John Hancock’s mansion gleaming above gritty streets filled with the almshouse, workhouse, and jail. From the harbor wharves and seedy brothels to renowned assembly halls like Old South Meetinghouse and Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1776 leads us on a vivid tour of the vital hub of the Revolutionary War. At every stop along the way, we encounter iconic names like Revere and Adams, but also the forgotten men and women who bled and brawled for freedom in every corner of Boston. Upon America’s 250th anniversary, Boston, 1776 portrays the Cradle of Liberty and the American Revolution as never before: raw, radical, and roaring with life." Information on his book can be found at https://www.diversionbooks.com/books/boston-1776 His website is available at https://www.jddickey.com/ AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

  8. Jun 16

    #205: Maya Kornberg - "Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress"

    From the publisher: "Why fifty years of changemaking and reform haven't fixed Congress—and what that reveals about American democracy. Congress, the central democratic institution in the United States, is hanging on by a thread. On January 6, 2021, a violent attack on the Capitol Building left five people dead, and threats and attacks against politicians are on the rise. In Stuck, Maya Kornberg chronicles the efforts of congressional reformers over the last fifty years and documents the mounting forces that have kept their reforms from creating meaningful change.  The "Watergate babies" of 1974, the Contract with America conservatives of 1994, and the historic 2018 class fueled by backlash to Donald Trump all represent younger, more diverse, and less entrenched members who arrived in Washington energized and idealistic. Kornberg reveals the ways Congress has become increasingly inhospitable to change. Political violence, astronomical campaign costs, relentless fundraising demands, shrinking staff, and centralized party leadership all constrain the ability of new members to legislate and represent their constituents. Social media, while offering new platforms for political expression, has also heightened harassment and fed a performative culture that rewards spectacle over substance.  Bolstered by dozens of interviews, congressional records, and the voices of lawmakers past and present—including Henry Waxman, Toby Moffett, Phil English, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Lauren Underwood—Stuckoffers a sobering portrait of a legislative body paralyzed by its own internal dynamics. Kornberg outlines tangible reforms that could restore Congress's capacity to function and amplify the power of its newest members. At a time when Americans are losing faith in democracy's most representative institution, Stuckmakes the case for how it could be saved." Maya Kornberg's website can be found at https://www.mayakornberg.com/ Information on her book from Johns Hopkins University Press can be found at https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54126/stuck?srsltid=AfmBOordiygQR16IzNoi_Ac4yKopcTURR35jGYkW6UrJfQ2-CHhBoens AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/ Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at  https://twitter.com/axelbankhistory https://instagram.com/axelbankhistory https://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

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"Axelbank Reports History and Today: Conversations with America’s top non-fiction authors and why their books matter right now" approaches our past and present in a way that makes anyone want to listen. National-award winning TV news reporter Evan Axelbank interviews writers of history and current events to explore how America works and how it has been shaped by both the powerful and the powerless. In conversational and engaging fashion, listeners learn about the most important events, themes and figures in American history. This podcast shows why we have no choice but to understand where we have been, to know where we are going.

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