Plodding Through The Presidents

We kick off a season full of weird science and pseudoscience with a tale of two very different chairs in Philadelphia—George Washington’s “rising sun” chair and Benjamin Rush’s tranquilizer chair. Then we welcome Colleen Shogan, former archivist of the United States and CEO of the exciting new initiative In Pursuit, honoring America’s 250th.

Check out the excellent essays from In Pursuit written about presidents and first ladies and written BY presidents and first ladies (and more) at inpursuit.org

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Join us this season for weird science! Deeply researched, deeply irreverent dives into the real—and pseudo—scientific beliefs of the early presidents and founders.

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In our Season 6 finale, we welcome Jeffrey Rosen, author of “The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America” for a conversation about Hamilton and Jefferson’s nation-defining differences, and their shared fear of the "embryo-Caesar" Aaron Burr.

Check out the fantastic resources at the National Constitution Center’s website at constitutioncenter.org.

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Howard joins fellow history podcasters Jerry Landry from Presidencies of the United States, Alycia from Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast, and Kenny Ryan Austin from [Abridged] Presidential Histories (and the new podcast Democricide) for their fourth annual Friendsgiving special for a discussion about history, podcasting, confounding presidents, and bringing back duels.

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Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com 

Listen to [Abridged] Presidential Histories: https://aph.buzzsprout.com/

Listen to Democricide: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/democricide/id1820630367

Listen to Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast: https://www.civicsandcoffee.com/

Listen to Presidencies of the United States: https://www.presidenciespodcast.com/

Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents

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We welcome Geoffrey C. Ward, the writer behind The American Revolution documentary series and its companion book, for a conversation about the revolutionary characters he’s excited to bring into the spotlight, the iconic images of the Revolution, his long partnership with Ken Burns, and his fascination with Franklin Roosevelt.

Find out more about The American Revolution film series at pbs.org and check out Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns’ gorgeous book The American Revolution: An Intimate History based on the film.

Sign up for the free Plodding Substack newsletter at plodding.substack.com by 11/30/25 for a chance to win a copy of Joseph Ellis’s new book.

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Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents

Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com - including our John Adams "Facts are Stubborn Things" shirt!
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