1 episode

True Tales of America's Pragmatist Heroes

When America Worked Bill Scher

    • History
    • 4.8 • 33 Ratings

True Tales of America's Pragmatist Heroes

    He Saved the World: Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.

    He Saved the World: Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.

    The almost-completely forgotten Secretary of State for FDR and Truman, Edward R.  Stettinius, Jr. did more than anyone to create the United Nations. He was derided in his time as an intellectual lightweight who lacked diplomatic experience. But he navigated a thicket of international disputes to maintain consensus between FDR, Churchill, Stalin and a litany of smaller nations to forge the final U.N. Charter. If not for an incredible series of events that thrusted Stettinius into the Secretary of State post, the United Nations may not exist today.

    • 1 hr 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
33 Ratings

33 Ratings

Terrier115 ,

Timely and Thorough

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.

jesushjones ,

Outstanding

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.

mclaughj48 ,

Coming together

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.

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