When America Worked

Bill Scher’s podcast is well researched and offers timely examples from American history of a functional attitude towards governing. “When America Worked” brings to light the tradition of pragmatism in American politics, a tradition that (in my opinion) we as a country sorely need to study and champion if we are to survive the tumult of 2020-2021.

If you’re interested in how individuals, contingency, and attention to detail can shape human events, this episode is for you. It’s deeply researched, so stick around for the liner notes at the end. We need more podcasts like this one.

I first learned about Bill Scher from Bloggingheads and have enjoyed his discussions with Matt Lewis on the DMZ podcast, especially during the trying times of the Trump administration. This new podcast is most welcome and I was happy to see his first episode was on Edward Stettinius. I love history and I first really leaned about Mr. Stettinius after reading Truman by David McCullough. Mr. Scher is well informed and brings out our history in a creative and approachable fashion. Highly recommend.

This new podcast is worth it for three reasons. First, it's going against the current trends which favor senationalism and outrage. Second, what's being offered is genuinely new or overlooked material (and the first episode delivers). Third, the creator is whip smart and has a knack for clever anecdotes and turns of phrase. So I'm along for the ride.