[Abridged] Presidential Histories

Kenny Ryan Austin
  • 4.7 (248)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

From Yorktown to the Civil War, Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Abridged Presidential Histories explores the successes, setbacks, and scandals that define each president’s legacy, and then asks what lessons we can learn from them.

  1. NOV 24

    2025 Friendsgiving History Podcast Spectacular

    It's the week of Thanksgiving, which means its time for the fourth annual Friendsgiving Podcast Spectacular. Four compelling podcast hosts sit down for a round table where each host gets to ask 1 question of each other host. Questions like: On the eve of the United States' 250th birthday, what ideas or facts from the revolution could use more emphasis today?Is there anyone from history your opinion pulled a 180 on as you learned more about them?If you could take any one president and swap their place with any other president, who would you swap and why? Join me for a merry discussion with 3 of the best U.S. / Presidential History podcasters you'll find: Howard Dorre, Plodding through the PresidentsJerry Landry, Presidencies of the United StatesAlycia, Civics & Coffee Support the show

    1h 3m

  2. NOV 13

    20.B) Death by Lightning, an interview on the assassination of James Garfield with Candice Millard

    Historian Candice Millard, author of Destiny of the Republic, discusses what it's like to have your book turned into a major Netflix Miniseries, Death by Lightning, and what first attracted her to the story of President James Garfield and the assassin Charles Guiteau.  Support the show

    35 min

  3. SEP 1

    The improbable Victoria Woodhull, an interview with Eden Collinsworth

    "While others prayed for the good time coming, I worked for it," - Victoria Woodhull, April 2, 1870, in a newspaper column announcing her candidacy for presidency of the United States. You may know that Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for president, but did you know that prior to running for office, she turned a reputation for being a clairvoyant into a stock brokerage career? Or that her vice presidential candidate was Frederick Douglass, but he didn't know it? Or that she missed the election because she was in jail? Join me for an interview with Eden Collinsworth on her new book, The Improbable Victoria Woodhull: Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President. If there are other historians or authors of presidential history you would like to hear from, drop me a line: abridgedpresidentialhistories@gmail.com  Support the show

    55 min
  4. Democricide season 1: Who Killed Athenian Democracy? Episode 1

    JUN 14

    Democricide season 1: Who Killed Athenian Democracy? Episode 1

    Please enjoy this preview of my new podcast, Democricide. Athens wasn't always a democracy, but when a tyrant overplayed his hand and a revolutionary proposed something better, it launched a new form of government that changed the Greek world. Sources:  The Peloponnesian War, by Donald KaganLords of the Sea, by John R. Hale Support the show

    25 min
  5. Democricide season 1: Who Killed Athenian Democracy? Episode 2

    JUN 14

    Democricide season 1: Who Killed Athenian Democracy? Episode 2

    Please enjoy this preview of my new podcast, Democricide. Athenian Democracy was established, but who cared? Compared to the mighty Persian empire, the Greek city states were a bunch of backwaters. And that's how history may have remembered them, if not for one suicidally ambitious Greek, and one desperately crafty Athenian who saved his city from destruction. Sources:  The Peloponnesian War, by Donald KaganLords of the Sea, by John R. Hale Support the show

    21 min

  6. JUN 9

    45.) Donald Trump part 1 2017-2021

    "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now." - Donald Trump, inauguration speech, Jan. 20, 2017. The American presidency had long fascinated Donald Trump. Ever since attending the 1988 GOP National Convention, Trump had wanted a piece of it - he'd even called Bush that year to ask to be on the ticket. But the idea that a twice divorced, six-times bankrupted Democratic donor could become the Republican president of the United States - that was laughable. Until it happened. Follow along as Donald Trump develops a personal brand for luxury, rides that brand to the White House, and then spends four years contending with investigations, impeachments, and a global pandemic. When he's voted out of office at the end of those four years, he won't accept it, and his supporters will storm the U.S. capital to try and take the presidency back for him. Sources Confidence Man - Maggie HabermanCDC - for COVID stats and timelinesWHO - for COVID stats and timelinesJan. 6 Committee - for Jan. 6 details and timelinesWashington Post & New York Times - for miscellaneous other details on Trump's presidency.  Support the show

    52 min

  7. APR 8

    8.A) Martin Van Buren, America's first politician, an interview with James Bradley

    Martin Van Buren is known as the "little magician." If he was a magician, he cast a powerful spell. The two party system he championed and helped establish has ruled the United States for two centuries and Democratic party he co-founded is the oldest American political party alive today. Historian and Journalist James Bradley, author of the new book Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician discusses how Martin Van Buren took over New York politics, and then American politics, to transform the American political system forever. Support the show

    55 min

  8. MAR 4

    44.A) Obama's 08' Iowa campaign, an interview with Chelsea Waliser

    What's it like to be on the inside of a dark horse presidential campaign?  Chelsea Waliser knows. Waliser was an Obama campaign regional field director during the lead up to first-in-the-nation 2008 Iowa Caucus. For nearly a year, she hired, trained, and organized volunteers for a candidate who was viewed by many as a long shot. What drove her to Obama? What's it like to spend a year of your life in Iowa? And how did Obama's campaign beat the odds? Tune in to find out. Support the show

    41 min
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Trailer

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About

From Yorktown to the Civil War, Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Abridged Presidential Histories explores the successes, setbacks, and scandals that define each president’s legacy, and then asks what lessons we can learn from them.

Information

  • Creator
    Kenny Ryan Austin
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    133
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 [Abridged] Presidential Histories
  • Show Website
    [Abridged] Presidential Histories

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