History As It Happens

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This is the eighth episode in a series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, America's semiquincentennial.
By the time the delegates at the Continental Congress formally declared independence in July 1776, the armed rebellion had been underway for more than a year. General George Washington had been in the field since the summer of '75. The men of the Continental Army saw little glory throughout a bloody, prolonged conflict during which they were often half-naked and hungry. More men died from disease than from enemy bullets. In this episode, historian Alan Taylor tells us what it was like to be a soldier fighting the British and fellow Americans who stayed loyal to the crown.
Recommended reading:
American Revolutions, A Continental History, 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor
Further listening (America250 series):
Episode 1 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode 2 w/ Kate Carté
Episode 3 w/ Alan Taylor
Episode 4 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode 5 w/ Jim Oakes
Episode 6 w/ Sean Wilentz
Episode 7 w/ H.W. Brands

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Enjoy this special episode of History As It Happens! On June 26, podcast host Martin Di Caro attended a screening of "Young Washington" at Mount Vernon in Virginia. The new film tells the story of George Washington's formative years as an officer in the Virginia militia at the outbreak of the French & Indian War (1754-1763).
"Young Washington" was directed by Jon Erwin and is a collaboration between Wonder Project and Angel, the film's distributor. In this episode, Martin interviews William Franklyn-Miller, the actor who plays Washington; Doug Bradburn, the president and CEO of Mount Vernon; and others involved with the film's production and educational campaign.

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As the president's approval ratings sink to a low ahead of the midterm elections, is the end of the Age of Trump in sight, or will his politics endure? What of Donald Trump's presidency might last? When it comes to ideology, Trump is as difficult to pin down today as he was when he announced his first presidential run in 2015. Are we witnessing a politics after ideology?
Our guest is Damon Linker, the political scientist and author of Notes From The Middleground newsletter.
Further reading:
Politics After Ideology by Damon Linker

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This is the seventh episode in a series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, America's semiquincentennial.
He was the indispensable American. George Washington held together the Continental Army as its commander-in-chief during the Revolutionary War. Then he answered his countrymen's call to serve as the new nation's first president, setting important precedents over the next eight years. Without him, the new republic might have failed. His leadership and the esteem in which he was held are the stuff of legend. The story is real. George Washington was not a demigod. As a general, he lost more battles than he won. But he was still indispensable to the causes of revolution and nation-building.
In this episode, historian H.W. Brands discusses his new book, American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington.
Further listening (America250 series):
Episode 1 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode 2 w/ Kate Carté
Episode 3 w/ Alan Taylor
Episode 4 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode 5 w/ Jim Oakes
Episode 6 w/ Sean Wilentz

Subscribe now to listen to the entire 24-minute episode (or preview 8 minutes).
One of the most influential central bankers in U.S. history, Alan Greenspan, who chaired the Federal Reserve for 19 years, died on June 22. He was 100.
Greenspan was once treated as an oracle whose policies and arcane pronouncements moved markets. After the '08 crash, however, his legacy was badly tarnished because he had embraced a quasi-religious faith in markets to regulate themselves — a fantasy that led to ruin shortly after he departed the Fed.
Our guest is historian Nelson Lichtenstein, the author of A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism.