Reckoning with Jason Herbert

Barbecue is American history — but not the version most of us were taught.
In this episode, I talk with James Beard Award–winning historian Adrian Miller about the untold story behind his book Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue.
Who built American barbecue? How did enslaved pitmasters shape a national cuisine? Why have Black barbecue traditions been minimized in the stories we tell about Texas brisket, Memphis ribs, and Southern food culture?
We dive into Juneteenth celebrations, church barbecues, political gatherings, regional myths, and the fight over what counts as “authentic” barbecue.
If barbecue is America’s food, this conversation asks a bigger question:
 What happens when we forget who built it?

What if Clue isn’t just a cult comedy — but a sharp satire of the Cold War?
In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, historian Julio Capó Jr. joins me to unpack the surprisingly profound history lesson hidden inside the 1985 film Clue. Set in a 1950s mansion but released during the Reagan era, Clue plays with paranoia, anti-communism, class anxiety, and America’s nostalgic myths about the past — all while delivering rapid-fire jokes and multiple endings.
We explore how the film reflects Cold War politics, the cultural mood of the 1980s, and why its farcical dinner party still resonates today. Is Clue simply a beloved murder mystery comedy? Or is it a clever commentary on power, fear, and the stories Americans tell about themselves?
If you love film history, Cold War history, political satire, or cult classics, this conversation will make you see Clue in an entirely new light.
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Today on the podcast, we’re stepping inside The Gray House—not just the story you see on screen, but the one behind it. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how this series came to life: how it was conceived, how it was built, and why it mattered enough to tell it this way.
I’m joined by executive producers Lori McCreary and Leslie Greif, along with director Roland Joffé. Together, they walk us through the creative choices, the production challenges, and the larger questions they were wrestling with as they made The Gray House. What did they want this series to say—not just about the past, but about the moment we’re living in now? And what do they hope stays with viewers long after the final scene fades to black?
This is a conversation about storytelling, history, collaboration, and intent—and about why some stories demand to be told as more than just entertainment. Let’s get into it.

In this episode, I sit down with cultural geographer Rashad Shabazz to dissect the 1984 classic starring Prince — and ask the uncomfortable questions.
Is The Kid a tortured genius… or a young man replaying generational trauma?
Is the final performance redemption — or dominance?
And what does Minneapolis represent in a film about Black masculinity, ambition, and control?
We unpack race, space, violence, desire, artistic genius, and the myth of upward mobility — all through the lens of one of the most iconic soundtracks of the 1980s.
This is Purple Rain as you’ve never heard it discussed before.
🎧 Press play.

In Episode 183 of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, historian Heather Cox Richardson joins the show for a lively and surprisingly sharp conversation about the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter—and what it reveals about American mythmaking.
What happens when we place a fantastical, axe-wielding Abraham Lincoln alongside the real political crises of the 1860s—and our own? We explore the Civil War, Reconstruction, the endurance of the “Lost Cause,” and the power of storytelling in shaping national memory. Along the way, we ask whether some myths refuse to die… and whether that might be the point.
Smart, funny, and unexpectedly timely, this episode blends pop culture with serious history—reminding us that the stories we tell about the past often say more about the present than we realize.